"You've royally pissed me off"
•••
She was angry. Scared and angry. Brooklyn couldn't decide which emotion she felt more and it was beginning to cause her a great amount of frustration.
The walk to Negan's room was mostly a blur, each second a faded memory and before she knew it, she was face to face with the same elaborate double doors that she had encountered only yesterday.
Dwighty Boy's fingers were still clenched around the nape of her shirt, his touch, cold and senseless. Bringing his fist to the door, he harshly knocked three times before whispering in her ear, "don't piss him off..."
Was he trying to help her? Brooklyn didn't answer, nor did she really want to know the true meaning behind his words. She was to busy planning on what she was going to say to Negan. Her palms were clammy even though her subconscious was screaming at her, telling her to fight the man, let him know that she wasn't afraid- when really, as much as she'd hate to admit it, she was.
"Come in," the oh so familiar voice bellowed, though he didn't sound his usual self. His tone was dark and unwelcoming, and even Brooklyn, who told herself that she wasn't someone to get frightened easily, was most definitely frightened of what was to come.
Maybe Negan was going to kill her or torture her, give her one of his deranged punishments. She didn't have a clue. All Brooklyn had to do was mask her fear, if he knew that she was afraid, it would give him the power to walk all over her.
Confidently shaking herself out of the grimy blonde-haired man's grip, Brooklyn waltzed through without a care in the world. Negan was stood in the middle of his room, his posture was slightly bent back and a villainous scorn plastered his stubbled face to show some sort of intimidation. It worked extremely well- especially considering that his fingers were clutched on to Lucille, who was of course smothered in her thick coils of keen wire. He parted his lips to speak but was cut off by none other than Brooklyn, she had turned her head towards the saviour, "You can fuck off now Dwighty Boy or whatever your name is. I can handle this shit by myself..."
With a low grunt, the man stormed out, slamming the doors behind him and leaving Brooklyn alone with her furious boss. "So!" She carelessly skipped over to the soft couch that she had previously sat on the day before and sat down, letting out a relaxed sigh. "I'm guessing I'm here because I didn't kneel down? Or maybe 'cause I embarrassed you in front of all your friends? Either way, I was kinda busy before you burst through the door, talking a load of crap! So if you don't mind, can we, you know? Speed things up a bit?"
Brooklyn was treading on very thin ice here. Though her inner self was applauding her every move, she knew she was going too far with the whole not acting afraid thing. Deep down, she was screaming for help, after what she'd just said, she may as well of started digging her own grave.
Not at all amused, Negan smashed Lucille down on to the mahogany dining room table, large strikes denting the rich wood. "You wanna choose your words very fucking carefully, Scotts!" He spat, his teeth grating together, nostrils flared and spit flying from his mouth, "cause Lucille? She don't appreciate your tone and neither do I!"
Brooklyn scoffed, "What? Your baseball bat doesn't like me? Boo hoo, I'm sorry that I've offended a wooden stick! How rude of me!" She stood up, glaring in to Negan's eyes.
The air was tense as their faces were inches apart. Negan gripped tightly on to the collar of her shirt, his knuckles quickly becoming a blistering red as they started to whiten with pure anger.
Without hesitation, he slammed her whole body forcefully in to the wall. "I hate killing women... Men? I could fucking waste 'em all day long," his breathing was heavy and uncontrolled as he carried on, "but you've royally pissed me off. 'Shows you got some sorta big woman sized balls down there, hell, maybe even bigger than some of my own men. I mean, I don't wanna kill you, but if you keep this up princess? You're gonna fucking wish you died that day in Alexandria..."
As his clutch on her shirt knotted even tighter, Brooklyn sneered at him, a fake smile on her lips, "you won't kill me!" She laughed.
"And why the fuck's that?"
"Because, you are still hoping that I'm gonna do this!"
It all happened in the blink of an eye, and before either of them knew it, Brooklyn's fingers had harshly yanked his jaw forwards, shockingly smashing her chaste lips against his. Negan's eyes widened, slightly taken aback by the sudden change of mood. Yet still, he didn't refuse, and instead worked with the moment, his tongue poking and prodding in to the cave of her mouth whilst his hands caressed her cheek. It was highly embarrassing when a startled gasp slipped from Brooklyn's mouth and she felt completely helpless under his touch. The way he tugged and nibbled softly on her lower lip was simply perfect.
Her hands travelled upwards, eventually tangling themselves amongst Negan's hair. She fluttered her eyes shut, ruffling the slicked back style atop his head. This wasn't exactly what Brooklyn intended to happen, she originally envisioned taunting the man, teasing him with her love- though now she'd started, she didn't want to stop herself! His touch was like bliss, pure euphoric bliss.
However, that didn't stop the alarm bells from ringing when she felt a large hand slide slowly down her lower back. And as appealing as that sounded, she wasn't going to sell herself off like that. At the end of the day, Negan was a stranger and this whole situation had spiralled completely out of control. She needed to put a stop to things now before they progressed.
Smirking, Brooklyn lightly pressed her palm to the leader's chest, causing him to pull away. "Damn doll, now that was unexpected!"
The girl seductively licked her lips, her intention to tease him (hopefully) working. "Well it ain't happening again!" She proclaimed, raising a brow.
Negan smirked, "keep telling yourself that sweetheart, cause it's not gonna last long..." he tucked a loose curl behind her ear, "you're gonna be fucking begging for more."
Brooklyn thought carefully about his words as she gazed in to those mesmerising hazelnut eyes of his. What if he was right? She couldn't fall for him! All he'd do is turn her in to the person she used to be- and that was definitely not happening. That kiss was meant to tease him, wait until he was begging for her, not the other way round.
"Forget it Negan! It's not going to happen!"
It seemed as if Negan was still not convinced as all he did was mumble under his breath and afterwards present his signature toothy grin.
The room remained silent for a few moments until Brooklyn decided to break it, "I'm guessing that I'm still in trouble then?" She placed her hands on her hips, "or am I off the hook?"
Negan chuckled and shook his head, "it's not that easy Doll, you pissed me the fuck off... And as long as you don't act up like some whiney little kid again, then sure, you're off the fucking hook. But that don't fucking mean I'll let you get away with anything else again."
Bitch he's falling for you. Why else would he just let you get away with the shit you pulled?!
"Really?" At first she was hesitant, but after a few seconds of analysing the man's facial expression, she could tell that he was definitely going to stand by his words.
"You pull that crap in front of everyone again though? Then shit sweetheart, I won't hesitate to melt your face off..."
She ignored his threat and shrugged, "well then, I'm sorry."
The leather clad man gave her a nod of approval and Brooklyn was quick to pipe up again, "I was in the market earlier, got some new clothes for the run tomorrow."
"Who fucking said you were still going after disobeying my rules earlier?" He mused.
"I did."
Unimpressed, Negan raised both brows and slung his arm around her shoulder, "careful darlin', careful how you're speaking to me... The only reason I'm letting you come is cause I don't want you wrecking shit back here whilst I'm out."
Brooklyn snickered and tilted her chin up to face him, "uh huh..." She felt the soft leather of his jacket rub against her cheek, "anyways... I better get going, Austin and Hunter probably think I'm dead!"
Obviously saying that was the wrong thing as Negan's brows knitted together, his eyes roaming with a hard look of resentment. "And who the fuck are they?"
She snorted, "just friends! Why?" It seemed that Brooklyn had offended him in some way or maybe he was jealous. The girl couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, the leader wanted her to himself. He wanted her to be his.
Hold yourself together, he has a whole group of women that he calls his wives. What makes you different?
Suddenly her giddy mood disappeared, giving her the wake up call she needed. Negan didn't really want her, he just couldn't let her rejection reflect badly on his ego and so he wouldn't stop until she became his.
"Why does it matter who they are to me?" Her tone turned sour, "you got a whole room full of women at your beck and call!"
She dramatically huffed and folded her arms across her chest, rolling her eyes as Negan grasped on to her shoulders. "Calm the fuck down! I know I have, those ladies know who they belong too," he smirked, "that's beside the point though. You're not like any of them, you aren't afraid of shit. You just do whatever the fuck you want, sure it pisses me off, but it's kinda like a turn on."
Holy shit.
Taken aback, Brooklyn's eyes widened and her cheeks blushed a rosy pink. Speechless, she stuttered on words, had he really just complimented her? Well- apart from the dirty joke at the end, which did make her snigger to herself.
Play hard to get.
Wait weren't you just pissed at him a second ago?
God these thoughts are complicated.
Averting her gaze from the floor, Brooklyn wheezed a small laugh, "I do, huh?" She traced her finger along his chest, "well I guess you're not to bad yourself..." he clicked his tongue as she patted his arm, "anyways! Like I said, my friends are waiting... So I'll meet you outside the gates tomorrow at 7am?"
"Sure thing Doll..."
Brooklyn pecked a small kiss on his cheek and made her way to the door. She pulled the door handle and twisted her head around one more time to see the man offer her a cheeky wink. And just like that, she was gone, leaving Negan alone, cursing at himself.
What if he was falling for her? He pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated with himself for allowing the girl to control him so easily like that. All he knew was that they were both playing a dangerous game, Brooklyn couldn't be his, she wasn't even a wife!
But maybe she didn't have to be.
<><><>
It hadn't even been two full days at the sanctuary and Brooklyn was successfully beginning to navigate her way around quite easily. She pulled on her messy ponytail, finding herself staring at the doors that led to the cafeteria.
I wonder if they're still here?
In boredom, she twirled one of her curly locks around her finger, her eyes locked on her surroundings.
"Hey, Brooke! Over here!"
She saw the two guys still sat at the same table they were at earlier, looks of relief clear on their faces. Brooklyn waved her arm and slowly strolled over, after the long day she'd had, her ankle was starting to ache.
"Crap, we thought you were dead," Hunter said, moving over slightly so that she could sit down.
"Yeah, what the hell happened in there?" Questioned the younger brother, his expression etched with curiosity, "I mean, no offence, but how are you not dead?!"
Brooklyn nervously snickered. She had always been the worst liar, even before the apocalypse. There's no way she could tell them both what happened. They would never forgive her, especially after how passionate Hunter was last night about his view towards Negan.
Just lie. You're gonna have to.
Both brothers gazed at her, silently begging her to tell them what happened. "It was nothing, all he did was shout at me. Told me if I disrespected him again, he'd-" she lowered the pitch of her voice as if mocking the very man she'd just those few minutes ago, kissed. "Melt my face off."
Hunter rolled his eyes, "asshole."
Not wanting to complicate her own thoughts anymore than they already were, Brooklyn shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't sure what to do now, her feelings were torn. A part of her wanted Negan, she wanted him all to herself... But then again, another part, the most part, was warning her to stay away because of the wives situation. She kept telling herself over and over that Negan wasn't the Prince Charming that he disguised himself as- he was arrogant and cared about his big ego more than most things. She didn't need him, then again, that's what she wanted to believe, not what she needed to.
"Anyway!" Exclaimed Brooklyn, pressing her hands down on to the table, "I feel like we hardly know eachother guys." She smirked at Austin and nudged Hunter's arm, "So, what'd you guys do before?"
Hunter nodded, agreeing to the idea of getting to know his new friend, "Well. Austin was obviously at school. I wasn't nothing special by the way, just a call-centre agent." The girl snickered at his words, "what about you Brooke?"
Like Hunter, she weighed the importance of her old job in her head, "I was nothing special either. Worked in a cafe, it was just a side job really. My dream was to be a singer. I always went in to my local recording studio to record my own songs but due to the pricks who decided they wanted to come back to life and eat people, that dream pissed off out the window." She fiddled with her fingers whilst she spoke before looking up at Austin, "wait. You were in school? I thought you were older than that?"
Austin simply shook his head with that cheeky, boyish grin on his face. "Nope. I was 15 when shit happened, so I'm now 18 and he's 25."
She smiled, "I'm 24... I think."
"Nice... So you sing then?" Hunter asked, "you still remember any of the old songs you wrote n' stuff?"
Brooklyn slipped her bag off of her back that had been there all day, sat it on her lap and patted it, "carry my lyric book in here."
"So that's why you've carried it around this whole time?" Teased the younger boy.
"Yup."
Gesturing to the bag, Hunter allowed a smile to take its place on his lips, "well, at some point you gotta show us."
God, she was glad to meet these two, they were both so genuine, unlike anyone she'd met so far. "I will."
Austin winked at his brother, his action going unnoticed by Brooklyn, and mouthed, "you like her" with a small snicker. Then, once he received an icy glare back, he decided to clear this throat, "so Brooklyn, how are you liking this place?"
The girl lowered her head up and down, "Yeah, it's real nice. Finally somewhere to rest my head without having to worry, you know?"
"Good, when we got here there was nothing of the place. We came across Negan and a small group of people by a campfire in the forest. From then on, we survived together and finally came across the sanctuary." Explained the young boy, his story piquing her interest.
She couldn't imagine what pre-apocalyptic Negan was like. It was hard to imagine considering some people spoke of him as if he were some sort of murderous villain, which Brooklyn hadn't actually witnessed yet. "So Austin, I know Hunter hates him, but do you think Negan's a good leader?"
Pondering on that, Austin narrowed his eyes in deep thought, "yes and no... He keeps us alive and in line, provides a roof over our heads, but his punishments go way to far."
Brooklyn nodded, but didn't say anything. She was determined to get Negan to open up, which so far seemed like it would be impossible. But maybe, just maybe, if she tried hard enough, even by expressing herself to him, she'd be able to connect with him more and understand him and his morals.
It would be a big push, but there was no harm in trying.