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Chapter Text

Walking Dead: Sins of the Parents

Episode 1: Chapter 1

The sunlight trickled in through a crack in the curtains, falling on the young man as he slept. He mumbled slightly in his sleep, turning over in the bed until a female voice called out.

“Kyle, it’s time to get up!”

The young man, Kyle Sherman, grumbled as he scrambled to get up from bed.

“I’m up, I’m up mom, I’m up.” He replied, voice still thick with sleep.

His mother Cindy replied. “Don’t take too long honey, you’ve got your first day at your new school today.”

Kyle scratched the back of his head, looking over at the bedroom mirror.

‘That’s right...First day at the new school since moving here for mom’s work.’ He reflected. ‘Well, I better get ready.’

Standing before the mirror, clad only in the black boxers he had slept in, Kyle bit his lip. Kyle was a tall young man at five foot eleven, he had close cropped reddish-brown hair, olive green eyes and tanned skin, he had a barely noticeable five o’clock shadow and a normal broad-shouldered build. He was still feeling in a rut from the move, not happy with having to move here and leave his friends and such behind. But as he got dressed, he decided not to dwell on things like that and try to make the most of it. He was lucky he was starting the school somewhat early into the semester, it was the tail end of September, with the trees beginning to lose their now yellow/orange leaves.

He finished getting dressed in the school’s uniform which, for the boys, consisted of either a black polo shirt or long sleeved sweater under a black blazer. A purple and gold tie with the blazer having the gold school crest with purple accents on the left breast pocket, the boys had the options of wearing black slacks or mid-thigh shorts, Kyle opted for the slacks and finally finished off with simple black socks and black polished shoes.

‘Hey, not bad.’ He admitted as he checked himself out.

It was a smart look, one he wasn’t used too, being a more casual kind of person. But it wasn’t too bad.

“Kyle, come on, we’re going to be late.” Cindy called up again.

He quickly turned away and approached the door to his room. “I’m ready, mom, let’s...let’s go.”

With that he left the room and got ready to begin this new chapter in his life.

XXXXX

Kyle bit his lip as he entered the school, noting the size of it.

‘Oh God...that’s all I need, I’m gonna get lost.’ He thought to himself. ‘I’m sure of it, it’s gonna happen some time.’

Even right now he was struggling as he looked around at the various students milling around, all of them clearly in a hurry to get somewhere. He had somewhere to be too, namely the main office to see the Principal and secretary, get his schedule and everything else he needed. But unlike everybody else, he had no idea how to get where he needed to go. To his relief, he saw two other boys that did not seem to not be in a hurry, simply standing talking. They both wore the shorts version of the boys uniform, the first was tall with dreadlocked dark brown hair and brown eyes, light brown skin and a lanky build, the other a tall blonde boy with his hair in a messy mullet, blue eyes and fair skin.

“Hey, sorry, I was hoping you could help me.” Kyle said as he approached.

They looked up and the dark skinned boy spoke. “Hi, oh...you must be new here, not seen you around before.”

Kyle nodded. “Y-yeah, I’m Kyle Sherman and yes, I’m new here. I’m looking for the office.”

“Marlon Chase.” The blonde boy introduced himself. “This is Louis Sulieman.”

The boys began to explain to Kyle where to find the office and helped him find his way there through the sea of students walking around. But then they had to go to their own first classes and Kyle thanked them before heading inside the office while they headed off.

XXXXX

Exiting the office, Kyle smiled and straightened the tie and blazer, checking the schedule he had been given.

‘Well, that’s me enrolled, just waiting for the student the Principal called to come and show me the way to class.’ He reflected.

He was glad that things were already going well, a good start to the day would hopefully make things more bearable at least until he got used to the move.

“Hi, Kyle Sherman right?” A girl’s voice caught his attention.

He turned to a girl of around medium height, fair skinned with long auburn hair tied back in a ponytail, light blue eyes and a slender curvy build with long legs and wearing the girls uniform, which consisted of a collared button up white top with a similar tie and blazer with crest to the boys. They wore a black pleated skirt with plaid purple lines with gold accents that came down to mid-thigh, with black stockings up to below their knees and flats. Brody had her hair tied back with a purple hair tie, the school allowed that colour, or black or gold, the school’s colours.

“Brody Burress, nice to meet you.” She said.

“Nice to meet you too.” Kyle replied. “So, I guess you’re here to show me around?”

Brody nodded. “That’s right, well, we better get to class...we don’t want to be late on the first day after all.”

Kyle smiled and nodded, following Brody as they headed to the class.

Reaching their class Brody spoke to the teacher and introduced Kyle.

“Ah, so, you’re the new student.” The teacher greeted Kyle in a friendly manner. “Pleased to meet you, young man, I’m Mr. Sanders. Why not introduce yourself to the class.”

Kyle bit his lip, he had expected something like this but hadn’t been looking forward to it. Doing his best to swallow his nervousness however he did so and was soon directed to a vacant chair, next to a young man, wearing slacks like Kyle, somewhat tall, but not as tall as Kyle with dark skin hinting at an Indian heritage, short black hair and black eyes. He smiled warmly.

“Hi, I’m Aasim Rajan.” He greeted him. “Brody and I are friends.”

“Oh, cool.” Kyle replied, that was some relief, it also made him wonder. “Um, you know Louis and Marlon too?”

Aasim nodded. “Yeah, we’re all one group, along with Ruby.”

Aasim’s voice strangely changed a little as he said the girl’s name, catching her attention. Ruby was somewhat short with short red hair, blue eyes and pale freckled skin, she wore the girls uniform and was rather self-consciously tugging at her skirt, likely due to not feeling confident showing her legs, probably because of her chubby and admittedly busty build, which also showed mainly on her legs too.

“Aasim, what...oh, hey.” She smiled and greeted Kyle.

Kyle nodded. “Nice to meet you too.”

But they had no chance for further conversation since at that moment, the class officially began.

XXXXX

Kyle smiled lightly as he finished his latest class, the only issue was that Brody wasn’t in this class nor the next one. Which left Kyle in a bit of a quandary about what to do now or where to go.

“So, you’re the new boy huh.” A sultry voice remarked from behind him.

He turned, startled and saw three girls standing there, the one in the middle being the one who had talked. He noted they all were not exactly wearing the uniforms as regulated by the school, their skirts being far too short, the other two girls socks were only up to their shins, the girl who had spoken wasn’t even wearing socks at all. She was pale skinned and rather tall, especially for a girl, almost six feet, in fact pretty close to Kyle’s height, she had raven black hair mid way down her back, that was tossed over her right shoulder and brown, almost black eyes as well as thin pink lips.

“Rondi Pels. This is Becca Jones and Michelle Brown.” She said, introducing herself and gesturing to the other two.

Both were of medium height, Becca had a petite figure with lightly tanned skin, some Asian features with shoulder length brown hair, thick eyebrows and brown eyes. Michelle was dark skinned with short black dread-locked hair, brown eyes, an average build and full lips.

“Um, okay...can I help you?” He asked.

Kyle was rather wary already, something about this girl didn’t sit right with him.

Rondi smiled. “Well, I was thinking I could show you around. You’re clearly the perfect kind of guy and I can make sure you get the ‘right’ people to take note of you…”

“Excuse me?” Kyle said, eyes narrowing.

“Oh come on, I saw you being shown around by that Brody, you can do better, you-” Rondi began.

Kyle fought back a snarl, seeing his initial opinion was right, this girl was a snobby popular kind, the other two her minions.

He was saved the effort of shutting her down however when another girl walked up. She was short, only five foot one with medium length curly dark brown hair, golden brown eyes framed with long lashes, her skin was a pleasing caramel shade and she had an athletic build and was wearing her uniform properly.

“Get lost Rondi, it’s people like you that are the problem.”

Rondi glared, all niceness disappearing. “You think you’re so special Everett, you-”

Kyle then cut in. “Compared to you, maybe she is, now excuse me.

He turned away while Rondi looked scandalised, along with her minions, he walked away with the other girl.

“Sorry about that, but I felt it prudent to step in and end things then and there.” The girl explained. “I’m Clementine Everett.”

Kyle nodded. “I thought I recognised you, you’ve been in a few of my classes, Brody told me about you. You guys are friends?”

“Yup.” Clementine confirmed.

He smiled and followed Clementine who revealed she was in his next class and would show him the way. However they had barely got around the corner from the classroom when Kyle grunted and stumbled back as he walked into someone, a female someone going by the grunt they had in response, also stumbling back, apparently almost falling over from the sound. Then Clementine laughed and remarked.

“Ah Kyle, I see you’ve just ‘met’ Sophie Leigh.”

Chapter Text

Walking Dead: Sins of the Parents

Episode 1: Chapter 2

Kyle quickly tried to compose himself, a little embarrassed at walking into someone. This girl, Sophie Leigh, Clem had introduced her as, also seemed flustered.

“I, sorry about that.” He said quickly.

She bit her lip, but replied, quietly. “It’s okay.”

Kyle took note of Sophie, dressed in the girl’s uniform, smart and neat. She was rather tall and lanky with long shiny red hair, light green eyes and pale skin, slender and, Kyle noted, was somewhat shy, at least in the way she shifted her feet and seemed to avoid eye contact.

“Well, um…” Kyle began. “I’m Kyle Sherman, I’m new here, nice to meet you.”

Sophie brightened a little at that. “Nice to meet you too.”

“Sophie.”

Attention turned to another girl approaching, Kyle was taken aback at how she was practically identical to Sophie, although there were differences, such as her having shorter hair which was shaved on the left side and a scar in her eyebrow.

“Minnie…” Sophie gasped.

“What are you doing?” She asked, sounding rather terse.

Clementine cut in. “Just meeting Kyle, the new boy, Minerva.”

Minerva glanced at Kyle and merely grunted before she and Sophie went on their way. Kyle was taken aback by this.

“Um...what the…?”

“Sophie’s twin sister, Minerva...she’s kinda, hard to get along with.” Clementine explained.

Kyle just nodded, he certainly got that vibe as they walked to the next class.

As they approached the next class Clem grinned.

“Well, this is a pretty big class and I’m sure...apart from two of the younger members of our group, you’ll meet the rest of them.” She explained.

Kyle smiled. “Ah cool, more the merrier, huh?”

Clem nodded and sure enough, when they reached the class, they saw a few students hanging out outside the room, four of whom stood out as Clem pointed them out, the other members of the friend group. Four boys, two wearing the slacks uniform, the other two wearing shorts, and two girls, one who like Ruby seemed uncomfortable with her skirt, but in her case, clearly out of shyness, the other girl didn’t seem bothered. The shy girl had short but thick black hair that didn’t quite reach her shoulders, olive toned skin with soft brown eyes behind red framed slightly thick glasses, she was skinny, rather petite.

The other girl was around five foot two, yet despite that she had long legs, shown by her uniform. She also had short somewhat stringy blonde hair with heavy bangs, pale skin and green eyes with strong features. Clem introduced them as Sarah Chaikin and Violet Adlon respectively. Then came the boys, the first boy in slacks was Mitch Daymond, a tall boy with short but messy brown hair, brown eyes and fair skin and a build similar to Kyle.

The second was somewhat tall, with medium length messy brown hair and brown eyes, tanned skin and somewhat lanky and introduced as Gabriel Garcia, or Gabe to his friends. The two shorts wearing boys were Omar Silverstein and Kenny Hammond Jr., nicknamed Duck, respectively, Omar was a slightly chubby dark skinned young man with brown afro hair, brown eyes and a casual smile, Duck was lanky with short brown hair, brown eyes and fair skin with prominent ears.

By the time Kyle reached the cafeteria for lunch, he was smiling, chatting happily with the group, for he had finally managed to meet the rest of the group, including one of the two younger members. A boy with somewhat below medium height with short brown hair, brown eyes and fair skin, fairly skinny, wearing the slacks uniform named Willy Cowden. He noticed that despite sitting next to each other at the table, Sophie and Minerva had rather different reactions, Minerva was standoffish and had her usual shortness. Sophie seemed distant and nervous around most of the group which confused and bothered him. But then he heard it, a familiar voice which made him glare, especially in what was being said.

“Aww, look at the pathetic shorts boy.” The voice said. “Could you look any more childish in those, loser.”

All the group had turned, but before any of them could react, Kyle shocked them by being on his feet and approaching Rondi, Becca and Michelle who were taunting a boy the same age as Willy, of medium height with dark skin, short black hair and eyes, a burn scar on the right side of his face and wearing the shorts version of the uniform.

Kyle stepped up, angry. “Hey, back the hell off!”

The three girls stepped back, startled by his intervention.

Rondi actually looked scared. “Kyle. I, now c’mon, this isn’t-”

“Don’t even try it.” He warned her sharply. “I already told you what I think and that’s even more so than now.”

“Oh, please. I know you don’t-”

“I do, not get lost and leave him alone.” Kyle snapped.

Rondi snarled but stalked off, followed by her minions as the others came up. Minerva was checking the boy, making sure he was okay, sending Kyle a strange look.

“Kyle, that was-” Sophie said, smiling. “Thanks for helping Tenn out.”

“Tenn?”

Sophie nodded. “My parents adopted him, so he’s mine and Minerva’s brother. Thanks for saving him from those...urgh.”

Kyle smiled. “It’s not trouble, just glad I could help.”

The others smiled too, impressed and relieved.

Kyle was still unable to believe the audacity of Rondi and her minions at lunch. He was still turning it over in his mind as he approached the first after lunch class. He was in fact being escorted by Sophie to the next class as they shared it.

“Kyle.” She said suddenly.

He started, not expecting to hear her soft gentle voice.

“Uh, yeah?”

Sophie smiled at him. “I just wanted to say thank you, for standing up for Tenn.”

“Oh um, no problem.” Kyle replied, flustered. “I just can’t stand bullies like that.”

Sophie just smiled more and he smiled back, thinking she looked rather nice as she smiled. They soon reached the class and Sophie bit her lip.

“Be careful here okay...the teacher for this class is really strict.” She warned him.

Kyle sighed. “Great.”

He soon saw that for himself when he saw the teacher, William Carver. A tall broad-shouldered man with short greying black hair, greying black stubble and moustache, brown eyes and fair skin.

‘Something about this guy isn’t right.’ Kyle noted to himself. ‘God, why am I so wary of him?’

“Hey, Sherman.” Carver suddenly snapped. “You might be new but that’s no excuse, stop day-dreaming.”

Kyle started but composed himself. “Y-yes sir.”

Carver snorted but the lesson began and Kyle did his best to concentrate.

XXXXX

Returning home with school over for the day, Kyle smiled as he went to shower and get changed and finally, heading downstairs, clad in jeans, a white T-shirt under a black and red unbuttoned flannel, white sneakers and a backwards red cap, Kyle saw his mother was also now home. Cindy was a short yet wide woman, only five foot two compared to her son’s five foot eleven, she had the same olive green eyes and tan skin as Kyle, but had dark brown hair instead. She wore simple capris, an orange T-shirt and black slip-ons.

“Ah, Kyle, you’re home.”

Kyle smiled. “Hi mom, good day?”

“Yes, it was fine.” She replied. “How about you, good day at school?”

“Yeah, it was cool, met a good few people, made friends.” Kyle explained.

Cindy smiled at that. “Oh, wonderful. I just hope this works out for us, I know we took a bit of a chance moving here.”

“Hey, it’s been good so far, mom.” Kyle reassured her.

She smiled at that as did Kyle as he reflected on his first day.

Chapter Text

Walking Dead: Sins of the Parents

Episode 1: Chapter 3

Kyle smiled lightly as he was in school for another day, he was hanging out with a few of the other guys before class, as well as Clementine and Violet, all of them simply chatting. Kyle was being quiet however, thinking to himself and the others noticed.

“Kyle, hey, you in there dude?” Louis asked him jokingly.

Kyle jolted out of his thoughts and smiled. “Oh sorry, was just thinking.”

Clementine gave a small laugh. “Yeah, could see that. What about?”

Kyle shrugged and replied. “Ah, was just thinking of getting more involved in school, maybe...join a sports team or something.”

“Huh, that actually might be a good idea.” Marlon remarked.

Mitch nodded. “Yeah, there’s a few to choose from, if you need more time to think about it.”

Kyle smiled lightly at that. “Yeah, I uh, I actually think I might have something to try out.”

They all smiled at that, sounding happy that he was taking this step, it would be good, they knew, that Kyle was getting more involved in the school and in extra-curricular activities. Kyle glanced once more at the nearby poster that caught his attention just as the teacher arrived and they all began making their way into class.

‘Yeah, sounds like a plan...I’ll do it.’ He told himself. ‘After gym class I’ll talk to the coach and see about trying out for the football team.’

Satisfied with that he prepared to focus on class and wait for his chance after gym class.

When he was on his own however, heading to one of his classes, he was startled to find his path blocked. Before he even reached the class, someone stepped in his way and glared at him. The first thing that struck Kyle was that this boy was also tall, facing Kyle eye to eye. He had short blonde hair, brown eyes and was somewhat pale and lanky. He was glaring at Kyle and had an air of arrogance about him that made Kyle instantly on edge.

“So, you’re the new boy.” He remarked with a sneer.

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “Um, yeah, Kyle Sherman.”

“Your name doesn’t matter. You’re not important enough for me to care about your name.” The boy snapped. “Just listen and listen good, boy. You just stay out of my way and don’t get any ideas that you are worth anything while I’m here, got it.”

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me, just who the hell do you think you are?”

“Nick Caelish and I own this school, so just remember what I said.” The boy shot back.

Kyle just nodded. “Right, whatever.”

He then stepped around the arrogant boy and continued on to his class. Nick spun around.

“Hey, I didn’t say you could go, loser.” He called.

Kyle called back. “Don’t care, you’re just a stuck up rich boy and you don’t actually own anything, so get lost, not interested in you and your stupid games.”

With that he continued on while Nick watched him go in shock and anger.

XXXXX

Kyle was still disturbed by the encounter at gym class later that day and as he changed for gym, he decided to ask. He looked around, Gabe and Aasim were nearest him also getting changed. The other boys were still somewhat nearby but not right next to him. He made up his mind.

“Hey guys um…” He got their attention and continued. “Do you guys know a...Nick Caelish?”

All three of them made disgusted faces and Gabe spoke up.

“Yeah, we know him. Spoiled rich kid, thinks he’s the best thing in this school.” He explained.

Aasim nodded. “He thinks everybody should be impressed with him and despises anyone who stands up to him or ignores him. About the only positive thing about him is he hates bullies...but only because he sees them as infringing on his control of things.”

“Yeah, I got the whole, thinks he’s the best thing when I encountered him.” Kyle replied.

The others had been listening in and were startled to hear Kyle had an encounter with Nick.

“Whoa and you stood up to him?” Omar asked.

Kyle nodded and fully explained the encounter.

“God...well, you’re a damn sight braver than most, Kyle.” Marlon told him. “Just be careful.”

Kyle sighed. “I got it, don’t worry. But seriously, I’m not too keen on just letting him walk all over people.”

The others nodded, at least accepting that, which gave Kyle some hope as they left the locker room for gym class.

Kyle later nodded to the other boys as they went to the locker room to get changed at the end of gym class. He had something else to take care of first and approached the coach. Looking up as he was putting away what they had been using in the class, the coach noted his presence.

“Sherman, you need something?”

Kyle nodded. “Um, yes coach, I was wanting to ask you about joining the football team?”

The coach turned to him. “Ah, I see...hmmm, well, I think we might have a spot open, if you can show you’re skilled enough for it.”

“I’m ready to try.”

“Good, good.” The coach said with a grin. “Well, let’s give you that try-out then. Don’t worry about your next class, I’ll write a note for the teacher.”

Kyle smiled and went to prepare himself to begin, looking forward to this and certainly hopeful that his try-out would go well.

Chapter Text

Walking Dead: Sins of the Parents

Episode 1: Chapter 4

Kyle approached his next class, clutching the pass the coach had written for him. He reached the door and knocked before entering, the teacher, unfortunately Mr. Carver, looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

“So good of you to finally join us, Mr. Sherman.” He said sarcastically. “You are very late, that’s going on your record I’m afraid.”

Kyle kept his cool however, he had already become wary of Mr. Carver who seemed to take pleasure in treating certain students rather ‘poorly’ to put things mildly. But Kyle knew he had a good reason for being late and approached the desk and held out the pass.

“Actually, sir. I have a reason, the coach wrote a pass for me, see.” He explained.

Carver scoffed and took the pass, looked at it and shook his head.

“Nice try, Mr. Sherman.” Carver remarked. “But you know full well only someone who is actually capable of being on the team would ever get a try-out and therefore get a legitimate pass.”

Kyle was taken aback by the sudden dismissiveness. “Sir, that’s-”

Carver cut him off. “So, that’s you marked down as tardy and if you try a stunt like this again, it’ll be worse, now take your seat.”

“But-”

“Did I stutter?” Carver snapped. “Take your seat Mr. Sherman, or do I have to punish you for disobeying the teacher as well?”

Frustrated but knowing that protesting further wouldn’t help him, Kyle glared but stalked off to his seat, unable to believe what just happened. He didn’t even know what he had done to get on Mr. Carver’s bad side, yet the man clearly took great joy in tormenting him like that.

XXXXX

Still frustrated after class, Kyle shook his head as he left class and made his way down the corridor, he had to find his friends, hoping it would help him calm down.

“So, thinking you’re some hot shot now.” A now familiar voice sneered at him.

Kyle barely turned his head before rolling his eyes when he saw it was Nick.

“You think you’re even worthy of going anywhere near the team, Sherman?” Nick continued. “You don’t have a chance, one word from me and you’ll be denied.”

Kyle rolled his eyes and carried on walking, ignoring Nick except for one simple comment.

“Not interested in you or your overinflated opinion of yourself.”

Nick was outraged at this and immediately burst out. “You need to listen to me Sherman, I told you, I own this school. If you keep on with this you’ll pay for it, I’ll make sure you pay!”

Kyle continued to ignore him, figuring he was full of shit and his threats were empty. He was still frustrated but didn’t want to get into a confrontation if he could help it. Unfortunately life had a way of making such wishes impossible to fulfil. He had been walking towards the cafeteria when he heard something that instantly made him react.

“Aww, did little Sophie fall down.” Came the all too familiar voice of Rondi.

He then heard Michelle’s voice as she spoke. “What’s wrong little baby Sarah, got something to say, you wanna join her?”

He then heard Becca’s laugh and he hurried towards the sound, already guessing what he was going so see.

Sure enough, as he rounded the corner he saw the three bully girls, standing and smirking at Sarah, who Michelle had pinned against the wall, Sarah fidgeting with her skirt, her nervous habit, while Becca stood nearby, sneering. Rondi stood over Sophie who was on the ground, likely having been pushed, she was also blushing and, although Kyle didn’t want to notice it, it was clear why she was blushing. The push that knocked her to the ground had made her skirt pull up, she was desperately trying to cover herself. Kyle couldn’t just stand by and let this happen. He hurried up.

“Hey, back off.” He cried out.

They all turned and Rondi instantly smirked.

“Kyle, hey babe, glad you-”

“Don’t call me that and don’t even try it.” He snapped. “I told you, I’m not interested in you and never will be. You need to back off now, you think you can just bully my friends and then act as if I’m here for you?”

Rondi laughed. “Oh Kyle, come one, stop acting. You know we’re-”

“Shut up and get lost!” He snapped, he’d had enough of this nonsense.

Rondi actually flinched in shock at that. Becca and Michelle had in fact already hurried away, allowing Sarah to help Sophie up to her feet, Sophie quickly tugging at her skirt to make sure she was covered. Seeing she was alone Rondi quickly ran away too and Kyle turned to the girls.

“Sorry about that, didn’t mean to lose my temper.” He said. “Are you two okay?”

He looked between both of them, concerned.

Sarah nodded and Sophie smiled lightly. “Thanks Kyle, really.”

With that relief they made their way to the cafeteria together, Kyle finally starting to calm down.

XXXXX

They finally reached the cafeteria, by which time Minerva had joined them. She wasted no time glaring at Kyle and putting herself between him and Sophie, much to his surprise.

“Don’t think I don’t know your game, Sherman, I saw you.” She whispered too him sharply. “I saw you staring at Sophie when she was exposed and then try to play the hero, don’t think I don’t know your type.”

Kyle glared at that, now understanding. “You clearly don’t, if you’re making that assumption.”

Minerva tensed and looked like she was about to retort but Sophie cut in.

“Minnie, please...enough.”

Minerva shot another glare at Kyle, but said nothing else and Kyle was left confused and once more frustrated as he joined the others at their usual table.

“Kyle, there you are dude, I’ve been looking for you.” Marlon remarked at once.

Kyle was surprised by this. “Huh, what for?”

Marlon handed an envelope over to him. “Coach asked me to give you this, he would’ve had it ready sooner, but needed to add something after he heard...I don’t know exactly.”

Even more confused, Kyle took the envelope and saw two things inside, the first one made him smile as he pulled it out and read it.

“Alright, I made the team.” He said. “Coach just sent me an acceptance.”

The others all grinned and congratulated him while Kyle checked the other note, reading it and smiling even wider. The coach had explained everything to the Principal and revealed the truth of things, rather than Carver’s biased report, so the tardy strike was removed from Kyle’s record and it seemed Carver was facing a warning for his behaviour. Things were looking up at last.

Chapter Text

Walking Dead: Sins of the Parents

Episode 1: Chapter 5

Heading towards the locker room, Kyle smiled as he got ready for his first practice. He had been given all the stuff he needed and would soon be joining the rest of the team. As he reached the locker room door, he took note of a pair of boys, part of the team, chatting together, typical jock looking boys, but Kyle had got to know other team members and knew not all of them were like that. But these boys soon showed they were worse than Kyle thought, blocking his way before he could even enter the locker room.

“Sherman.” One sneered at him. “Still can’t believe you’ve got the nerve to show up here.”

Kyle was a little taken aback. “Um, I’m part of the team, of course I’m gonna show up for practice.”

The other stepped up to him, getting in his face. “Yeah, we don’t know or care how you tricked your way onto the team, you don’t belong here and-”

“And I want to know why you’re blocking him and telling lies.” The coach suddenly cut in, stepping up and glaring at the two boys.

They instantly stepped back and hurried into the locker room, tails between their legs. Kyle thanked the coach and entered the locker room, confused by the suddenly altercation.

Kyle was getting changed into his football uniform, aware of the two boys sending him glares and turned to the boy next to him.

“Hey, what’s up with those two?” He asked.

The boy looked over, bit his lip and replied. “Oh, they’re just stuck up...kinda...elitist. They think only certain people should be on the team.”

“Rich guys, they bought their way on?” Kyle queried and when the boy nodded, he shook his head. “And they accused me of tricking my way onto the team.”

“In their eyes you did, since that’s not the way they think things should be done. Not surprising, given their kinda ‘friends’ with Nick Caelish.” The boy explained.

That caught Kyle’s attention, minions of Nick, that was all he needed. But he put it out of his mind and instead focused on the upcoming practice as he left the locker room with the rest of the team.

XXXXX

Returning to the locker room, Kyle smiled, practice had gone well and he really proved himself to the team, a few had been unsure but now, with the exception of those two elitist boys on the team, the rest of them had all fully accepted him as a member. He had waited behind after class to learn the full playbook from the coach and the locker room was empty, the coach had also left so Kyle quickly got undressed and hit the showers. Finally, some time later, he emerged, dried off and with his towel wrapped around his waist, he approached his locker but upon opening it he noticed that his clothes were nowhere in sight, the laundry of the uniforms worn that day was already taken and all the other lockers were locked anyway.

“What the hell, where’s my clothes?” Kyle muttered.

Suddenly he cried out in shock as the towel was pulled off him, leaving him exposed, his hands instantly went to cover his manhood as he turned, eyes wide, face burning hot. It was them, those two elitist boys from before.

“This is what you get punk.” One said. “You should’ve left when you had the chance.”

Kyle grimaced. “H-hey, give that back, where’s my clothes!?”

“In the girls locker room, go and get them, if you dare.” The other scoffed. “This’ll teach you a lesson, you better learn to know your place.”

The first nodded. “Yeah, and respect us and Nick while you’re at it.”

That made Kyle freeze as he realized the danger and humiliation involved in this incident as he could already hear people walking past the outside of the locker rooms, the boys left with his towel, commenting on Nick and the money they made, Nick had paid them off to humiliate him like this.

Now he was concerned, he wasn’t sure what to do, he couldn’t just go out and get his clothes. They were in the girls locker room which was bad enough, but he was also completely naked now and if he even stepped out of the locker room, he’d be exposing himself to the people passing around outside.

‘Shit...shit, shit.’ He thought to himself. ‘What do I do, urgh, those assholes.’

Shaking his head he looked around the locker room for anything to cover himself with. That was when he saw something in his locker, somehow, when stealing his clothes, the boys had missed his phone, he quickly picked it up and then bit his lip, considering.

‘Who do I even call...everybody else is practically on the other side of the school...except…’ He thought and bit his lip.

He didn’t even think past that, it was his only option and he quickly called the number.

“Kyle?” Sophie queried, clearly wondering why he was calling.

Kyle bit his lip. “I um, I’ve got a problem, stuck at the locker room due to some...idiots. I need help.”

Sophie seemed a little surprised by his awkwardness. “Oh, okay, um...hold on, I’ll be right there.”

She hung up and Kyle grimaced, setting his phone down and covering himself with both hands again, unable to believe it had come to this.

He knew he had to head off a potentially volatile situation so he waited by the door and as soon as it began to open he quickly stopped it.

“Kyle?” Sophie asked.

It was her, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, it’s me. Listen, I can’t let you come in.” He explained. “I um...they stole my clothes, they’ve been stashed in the girl’s locker room...could, could you please get them and, just, deposit them through the door please.”

“Oh um…” Sophie stammered, clearly blushing. “Okay, I’ll do it. Hold on.”

Kyle waited for what felt like an agonizingly long time, but in reality was no more than a couple of minutes. Finally the door cracked open and his clothes were sent through. To his relief, Sophie then closed the door and he quickly got dressed and grabbed everything else he needed like his phone, before heading out the locker room. Sophie was standing there, waiting, face almost as red as her hair.

“Are you alright, I mean, they didn’t do anything else to you?” She asked worriedly.

Kyle bit his lip. “I’m fine, thanks, you really saved me there.”

She nodded, Kyle couldn’t help but noticed how cute Sophie looked, especially while blushing.

XXXXX

Finally they reunited with the rest of the group, instantly Minerva was glaring at Kyle but the others were concerned for Kyle.

“Dude, what kept you?” Louis asked worriedly.

Kyle bit his lip and grimaced. “It’s...kinda embarrassing.”

“Oh?”

He shook his head. “I’d rather not talk about it, suffice to say I got into some problems due to two boys on the football team and that spoiled brat Nick Caelish.”

The others sighed and shook their heads, all except for the Leigh twins, they both flinched and the colour all drained from Sophie’s face.

“Figures.” Clementine remarked.

Nobody noting the twins reactions.

“You gonna be okay dude?” She continued.

Gabe stepped up. “If you wanna talk to someone, we could back you up and-”

Kyle shook his head. “I’m fine guys, really. It was embarrassing but...I’m fine. This won’t beat me, they won’t beat me.”

The others smiled and Sophie couldn’t help but see Kyle in a new light, his strength despite all he had just endured. She couldn’t help but admire that and didn’t deny it made him seem rather more attractive, along with his physical good looks too.

Chapter Text

Walking Dead: Sins of the Parents

Episode 1: Chapter 6

Kyle smiled as he dusted off his black jeans, with which he more matching sneakers and a red T-shirt under a black and red flannel. He was seated at the food court of the local mall and he wasn’t alone. While the girls all had their own things that they wanted to do, the rest of the guys from school had invited him to join them in this little hang out where they could talk and just spend time together, laughing, joking and generally just having fun. Kyle had recovered well from his humiliating ordeal in the locker room and luckily nothing else had happened. He knew that reporting the matter wouldn’t really work, but he made it clear that he wasn’t intimidated and carried on as normal in the team. This naturally frustrated the boys, but the coach was on their case about their performance which meant they couldn’t do anything about it. Meanwhile Nick hadn’t said or done anything else yet, so Kyle decided to just enjoy the peace while it lasted.

“So, what’s up guys, anything new?” He asked.

He looked around at the others, all of them smiling, sitting on either side of him was Duck and Gabe, respectively clad in black pants and sneakers with a yellow hoodie and ripped jeans, a white tank-top under a blue and green jacket; Orange beanie and white sneakers. Seating opposite them was Aasim in a long sleeved blue shirt with black pants and brown boots and Omar in blue jeans and sneakers, as well as a black T-shirt under a denim jacket.

On the left side of the table sat Louis, Marlon and Mitch. Louis was wearing a white T-shirt under a black unzipped jacket, jeans and blue sneakers. Meanwhile Marlon wore a purple hoodie, blue jeans and black boots and Mitch a black T-shirt and beanie, brown cargo pants and sneakers. While on the right side sat Willy and Tenn, respectively wearing a long sleeved red T-shirt, ripped jeans and boots and a green T-shirt, brown cargo pants, black boots and a black beanie.

“Not much really…” Omar remarked. “Just glad things seemed to have quietened down at school.”

Willy nodded. “Yeah, it was crazy, all that drama.”

Kyle nodded, knowing what they meant, there had apparently been some upheaval with the cheerleading squad, as well as some other members of the football team which was causing a stir, Kyle was glad he had kept out of such drama.

Tenn then added. “Yeah, anyway...let’s not worry about that huh?”

Mitch nodded. “I agree, actually, I know something we could talk about.”

They all looked to him, but he was grinning over at Louis and Marlon, who also grinned.

“Oh yeah, good point.” Marlon said, nudging Louis.

Louis just grinned, seemingly accepting being put in as some sort of spokesperson for the trio.

“So…” Louis said with a smirk, taking note of a few of the guys. “Who’s been stoking some major crushes lately, huh?”

The effect was immediate with three of the boys tensing, notably blushing.

Kyle quirked an eyebrow as he took note of these reactions and couldn’t help but note exactly who had reacted, Gabe, Duck and Aasim and began to wonder just who the girls were. For Aasim at least, he had something of an idea.

Sure enough Aasim confirmed. “Guys c’mon, I’ve told you, I can’t...I can’t just walk up to Ruby and tell her…”

“And we’ve told you, that you need to tell her unless you wanna be stuck in this little, situation.” Marlon explained. “What if someone else ends up asking her, huh?”

Aasim just bit his lip but was spared answering further by Mitch having also noticed and deciding to ask.

“Gabe, Duck, something you guys wanna tell us?”

They both shared looks as Kyle leaned back, looking back and forth between the pair.

“Um well, I…I kinda...have a crush on Brody.” Gabe admitted.

Duck nodded. “Y-yeah and I’m crushing on Sarah.”

“Well, wasn’t expecting that.” Louis admitted. “Still, nice, you guys should really go for it, talk to them, don’t wait.”

They just shared awkward glances and mumbled, clearly lacking in confidence as much as Aasim.

Finally Marlon asked. “What about you Kyle, you’ve been rather quiet?”

Kyle paused, thinking for a moment. His mind raced about the various things he’d come to notice and feel regarding Sophie, but there was just one thing, he couldn’t exactly make sense of what he was feeling.

“I’m...not to sure right now.” He replied truthfully. “Maybe ask me some other time.”

The others were a little surprised by this but accepted his answer, noticing how truthful he was being and so they simply carried on talking together, having a good time, but all of them were thinking about what had just been revealed with some interest.

Chapter Text

Walking Dead: Sins of the Parents

Episode 1: Chapter 7

Kyle sat at his desk. He stared out the one window into the overcast day that laid outside as he let Mr. Carver's voice to fade into the background. Unfortunately, as he looked he happened to catch Minerva's eye.

Impulsively, Minerva immediately whispered, "What the hell are you staring at?"

Kyle hesitated. He should just tell her it was an honest mistake, and that he wasn't staring at her, just past her. But, he was growing tired of Minerva's attitude towards him, and he was growing even more tiresome of walking on eggshells around her.

"I'm not. Why? Have a complex?"

Minerva's face constricted into something unpleasant, like she smelled something rather nasty. "Stay away from me and my sister."

'Oh, here we go!' Kyle thought. "You don't get to tell me or Sophie what to do."

"If you don't listen to me, I'll-" Minerva hissed.

"Mr. Sherman and Ms. Leigh," Mr. Carver cut in. "Do you have something you want to tell the class?"

Kyle muttered a no, while Minerva stayed quiet.

"Well, since you won't tell the class," Carver declared. His face remained impartial but his voice implied a tone of superiority. "Then, I guess I'll have to give the both of you detention."

Kyle groaned audibly while Minerva pounded her desk in anger.

Carver raised a bemused eyebrow. "Have anything else the both of you want to say?"

"No, sir" Kyle muttered, whilst sarcastically stressing the final word.

Meanwhile Minerva just shook her head, but her eyes betrayed the hatred she felt for both men.

"Fine then, we'll see you both after school today.” He remarked before continuing. “Now, can we continue with our discussion over the Romantic period."

The class continued on like normal. Kyle sighed inwardly as he wrote down some notes on some poet he didn't care about. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a tiny note that appeared on the corner of his desk.

"This is all your fault."

Kyle had only one guess where that came from.

XXXXX

Kyle dragged his feet into detention. His mood had never been particularly great that day, but now it had reached its lowest point. It was the one day he didn't have practice, and he had been hoping he could just go home and play some video games, but he supposed he could never have any luck. The only net positive that he could think of is that he could do the homework he was assigned. He sat down at a desk near the back of the room to work on the algebra he was assigned and do the reading on Gilgamesh he was somewhat struggling to get through. He glanced up to see Carver striding his way into the room, and smug look on his face. Kyle fought the urge to roll his eyes, as he knew in the back of his mind that would only bring more repercussions down on him. Before he glanced down, Minerva strode her way into the room. Trailing behind her was her twin sister, Sophie. He tried to catch Sophie's eye, but she didn't look his way. He felt a little defeated, but he put it aside, as he knew he wouldn't have had the opportunity to converse with her anyway. Minerva however, has caught her eye. And when Carver had took the opportunity to close the blinds to close out the view of outside, the redhead had taken the opportunity to flip him the bird. Kyle had thought of retaliating, but let it go. This was going to be a long detention period.

XXXXX

Finally, Kyle arrived home only to find it empty. He recalled that his Mom had announced the night before that she would be out of town and wouldn't be home until late. If he wanted, he could stay play video games until she came home, like he had planned. However, after being forced to sit still and quiet for however long he had in detention had made him restless and constricted, to the point that sitting and doing any activity seemed unappealing. He had an idea. He departed to his bedroom to change into a black t shirt with long sleeves, some grey sweatpants and a black hoodie with a grey beanie before slipping back on his sneakers. He locked the door behind him as he set off on a walk throughout the neighborhood. He had plugged his headphones into his ears as he strolled his way down the block. He turned carelessly down a street and then across an intersection. He had too many thoughts to truly put them in order. He thought of Carver, and his sadistic fascination with psychologically torturing him. He thought of Nick and of Rondi, who couldn't seem to take "no" or "leave me alone" for an answer. Then, he thought of Minerva, and her aversion to him and her over-protectiveness of her sister.

Naturally of course, that led to thoughts of Minerva's sister, Sophie. They might have been twins, but, Kyle found Sophie incredibly attractive and her sister not so.

‘Perhaps.’ He thought, amused. ‘I am more attracted to personality after all.’

He rounded the corner of another block, and he had begun to wonder if he should head home. Then, he noticed that another person was slowly walking the sidewalk that he was strolling. The person in question was of familiar height, wearing a gray hoodie with said hood pulled up, as well as black leggings and black sneakers. He thought briefly of crossing the street to give this stranger room, when the individual turned partially and he saw a familiar face.

Kyle excitedly took out his headphones and stuffed them into the pocket of his hoodie. He advanced on the person quickly, where the girl waited for him to approach.

"Hey, Sophie!"

"Hey," Sophie smiled sheepishly.

Her hoodie seemed wrinkled and mismatched on her, and her hair seemed tufted and stuffed in the hood, as if she threw it on quickly, not caring how she looked.

"You going for a walk too?" She queried.

"No," Kyle chuckled. "I was just chasing my shadow but it keeps getting away!"

Sophie laughed and the two began making their way down the sidewalk. Both teens had their hands in their pockets, yet their elbows were almost touching.

"So how was detention?"

Kyle half shrugged. "Boring. At least I got homework done."

"Yeah," Sophie hesitated. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine," Kyle sighed. "Your sister is... Something else."

"You can say, 'overprotective', I don't mind." She replied.

Kyle shrugged. "That's honestly not what I had in mind, but that's a good adjective."

Sophie chuckled, which relieved Kyle. "You're not wrong, though I'm not supposed to think that."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is her deal?"

Sophie was quiet for a second. Enough to the point that Kyle worried he may have overstepped his boundaries.

Finally, Sophie seemed to breath in deep a bit before answering,

"It's kind of a twin thing, I guess. Protecting each other since birth."

"Ah," Kyle guessed that their had to be more to it than that. But, he wasn't sure if he should push the issue. He thought about changing the subject, but he didn't get the chance.

"I'm sorry about her though. Minnie comes on strong, but I promise she's a great person."

"Now that's something you're supposed to say." Kyle said reassuringly.

He glanced over and Sophie smiled at him. They held eye contact for a few moments, and Kyle couldn't help but notice how amazing she looked in the light. Sophie looked away quickly. She glanced down at her shoes and asked quietly, "What did she say to you?"

"Oh," Kyle swallowed the lump in his throat. He thought about sugar-coating the conversation, but he just decided to be honest. "She basically told me to stay away from you."

"I gotcha."

The two were quiet now as they awkwardly walked stride for stride. Thoughts were circling around Kyle's head. He wanted to keep talking to her, but he couldn't figure out what was going on. There seemed to be a tension between them, and he didn't know how to relive it. Minerva's presence was casting a shadow over them it seemed.

Suddenly Sophie spoke, "Did you have a destination in mind, or were you just walking?"

Kyle looked up, jolted from his thoughts. "No set destination. Just wanted to clear my thoughts."

Sophie nodded.

"I saw you pass by my house." She smiled shyly, which Kyle couldn't help but acknowledge how adorable she was. "And I wanted to talk to you without... anyone else interrupting."

Kyle beamed at her. He felt as if a balloon had inflated inside him and expanded with joy he felt. He couldn't describe how good it felt to know that she wanted to talk to him.

Sophie smiled back. "We've passed by my house three times now."

Kyle glanced behind her. He didn't notice that they had been walking in circles. He laughed. "I guess you're right."

"I'm very observant." Sophie chuckled. "But I know Minnie is gonna be home from the store soon. So I'll have to be going."

"I should go home too." Kyle didn't want to leave. He didn't want Sophie to leave. It felt that they had only just started walking, and he didn't want it to end.

"Do you know the area well enough to get home?" Sophie teased.

"I'm not sure," Kyle hesitated.

"Maybe I should walk you home then?"

‘Oh.’ Kyle thought inwardly.

"Sounds good to me." He tried to sound cool, but he wasn't sure if it came out like that.

Sophie beamed at him. "Okay."

Kyle mentioned his address after Sophie asked, but otherwise, neither of them spoke much. It was as if neither of them wanted to ruin the moment as they cherished this opportunity to actually spend some alone time.

Before they were ready, they had arrived at Kyle's driveway.

"Well, here we are," Kyle exclaimed disappointedly.

"Looks like it," Sophie matched his tone.

"I'd invite you in, but I know you need to get going before you get in trouble."

"Yeah," Sophie nodded.

"I'll see you at school, Sophie." He said softly.

He started to turn to head inside. At least he could play the games like he had planned.

"Hey, Kyle," he heard.

He turned and Sophie had opened her arms and pulled him into an embrace. Immediately, Kyle returned the hug. She was incredibly warm and smelled incredible as well. A small lock of her hair tickled his nose, but it didn't change how pleasant the embrace was.

They held the hug for seconds longer than typical before the two teens pulled away.

"Can you do me a favor, Kyle?" She asked.

"Sure," Kyle, smiled, overjoyed by his luck.

"Don't listen to Minerva."

Chapter Text

Walking Dead: Sins of the Parents

Episode 1: Chapter 8

"Please, Sophie, please!"

Tenn had been whining all day that he wanted to go trick or treating. Originally, Minerva had volunteered to take him, but she had unfortunately succumbed to a fever.

Tenn had already gotten his costume ready. He had saved up what allowance he had to get the Miles Morales Spider-Man costume, and he had been wearing the outfit all day.

Once Minnie discovered that she was sick, she still intended on taking Tenn. Yet she couldn't stay on her feet for long.

That left Sophie with the position of being the last responsible one standing to take Tenn. Sophie was only hesitant because Minerva had been so insistent on taking him herself. It was at the point that if Sophie were to take him, she felt that she were disobeying Minerva somehow. The last thing she needed right now was to get on her sisters bedside.

She had to put on a costume. She grabbed an Ariel costume that thankfully still fit from a few years ago, and some jeans to wear under the dress skirt, plus a purple cardigan to wear on her shoulders. "Alright, Tenn. Let's go."

"Yes!" Tenn declared. He grabbed a plastic bucket that was shaped like a pumpkin, and raced over to the door. He practically pogoed on his excited feet as he waiting for Sophie to grab her phone off of the coffee table.

Sophie smiled before grabbing the knob and twisting it. The duo stepped out into a brisk yet fair Halloween night. Immediately, Tenn took off to the nearest house; eager to begin his treasure trove of candy.

Sophie called for him to slow down, and it fell on deaf years. Fortunately, the Tenn's energy would dissipate as the eagerness would fade in favor of determination to get the most candy possible.

After about half an hour, the duo had travelled a few blocks, and Tenn's container was still only a fourth full. Sophie glanced over at the crossroads that she found herself and her brother in, and noticed a familiar street

"This way, Tenn. I see plenty of houses further down the road."

The two turned down and two houses later, they had arrived at a house Sophie had thought about for the last few days. Instead of waiting at the end of the laneway, like she had done for the past 30ish minutes, she followed Tenn to the door. Tenn noticed her following, but said nothing as she motioned for him to knock.

"Trick or treat!"

A familiar face emerged from the doorway. "Hey, Tenn. Hey Sophie!"

"Hey!" they both answered. Sophie acted surprised, but she had a feeling she could trust Tenn to keep this a secret.

Kyle snuck in a full size candy bar into Tenn's container. As Tenn thanked him and checked out his new haul, Kyle glanced up at his sister. "How's the trick or treating?"

"It's pretty good so far," Sophie shrugged, hoping she seemed nonchalant. "It's pretty nice out here."

Kyle jumped at the opportunity. "Nice enough for me to come with you?"

"Yeah!" Tenn exclaimed. He seemed distracted, like he was already planning on venturing over to the next house.

"Sounds good!" Sophie answered. She let Tenn go over to the next house as she allowed Kyle to go back inside to find a costume.

Moments later, he emerged in a Paul Atreides Dune costume (Sophie had to ask). Tenn caught up with his two chaperones, and the set out to continue their route.

"You look absolutely amazing... Ariel?"

"Yeah," Sophie smiled. "Sorry I didn't recognize yours."

"It's cool," Kyle smiled. "I'm kind of a nerd."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Sophie reassured. "I'm one too. Just in a different ways."

"Oh, how so?"

The two continued their conversation while Tenn ran energetically from house to house. Kyle and Sophie meandered behind, but always kept Tenn in eyesight. It helped that Tenn ran into some school and friends and slowed down to discuss their costumes amongst each other, and that the two had reached the end of the road that led into a wide circular cul-de-sac. Kyle and Sophie stood at the end of the entryway of the small neighborhood.

"Ask me about any horror movie, and I could tell you any fun fact."

"Uh, I don't know horror. The Exorcist?"

Sophie smiled, glad she had gotten such a softball. "A fire burnt down nearly every set of the movie, except Regan McNeil's bedroom. The little girl of the movie."

Kyle whistled. "Now that's weird. With that knowledge, I'm surprised you didn't wear something more scary."

Sophie looked down at herself. The Ariel costume was actually Minerva's, as she was a closet Disney fanatic, but luckily twin magic allowed her to fit in anything Minnie could. It was far easier to quickly dress in this costume rather than her horrer outfits.

"Are you implying that I can't feel like a Disney princess every now and then?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"No, no," Kyle said while grabbing her hand. "I'm saying that what you're telling me isn't matching what you're showing. Actions speak louder than words, you know?"

Sophie looked up at his features; the smile stuck on her face. Her eyes reached up to his brilliant green ones, and a shock of excitement went through her. "Actions speak louder than words, huh?"

She placed a free hand on his chest. She was completely enveloped in her emotions, that the environment around her had faded into the background. She leaned up at her tiptoes...

"Sophie!" Tenn called, mid sprint. His candy jug was jiggling violently in his hand, and he noticed just too late to avoid the candy free falling to the asphalt below.

Sophie tore herself away from her companion. The moment had been murdered, and her emotions snapped back into the deepest part of her soul as if it were a rubber band.

"Coming!" she called, her voice thick with the lump in her throat and her cheeks blushing a violent Vermillion.

She rushed over to help pick up Tenn's candy and replace them in the bucket. Kyle also joined. Within moments, the trip had managed to package the assorted candies into the bucket.

Kyle tried to quietly apologize. Sophie didn't say anything, she didn't trust herself. She did, however, squeeze his forearm and gave him an embarrassing smile, hoping that would be enough.

The trio walked their way back the way they came. Only this time, the two were unable to think of anything to say to break the bubble of tension that ensnared the both of them.

Later, the trio arrived at Kyle's driveway. There he said his goodbye and Sophie and Tenn followed suit.

She took Tenn home. Her thoughts overcome by the events that just transpired, and she prayed that Tenn didn't see anything. And if he did, he wouldn't tell Minerva.

Chapter Text

Walking Dead: Sins of the Parents

Episode 1: Chapter 9

Kyle turned off his console for the second time and flopped back down on his bed. He stared at the ceiling and let himself fade back into his thoughts.

He felt completely restless. He wanted to do something to take his mind off of things, but he couldn't stop thinking about Sophie. Everything he did would always lead his thoughts back to her.

He wondered what she was doing right now, and if she was thinking of him. He kept dreaming about the walk that they took several nights ago, and of Halloween where they had almost kissed.

"Kyle?"

"I'm alright, Mom."

His mom kept checking up on him every couple of hours or so. "I'm just making sure you're alright. Is there anything you wanna talk about?"

He glanced at her, but then grabbed the controller to turn his console back on. "Nah, I'm just bored. I appreciate it though."

"Alright. If you need anything, just let me know. I'll be starting dinner soon, if you want to help out."

"You know," Kyle said as he sat up. "That doesn't sound so bad."

He left the room then, hoping it would take his restless mind off of Sophie.

XXXXX

"Hand me the white paint, Sophie."

Sophie stifled a sigh as she made her way over to the corner. Tenn was over at his friends for a sleepover, and Sophie had decided to paint his room as a surprise for him. But, in reality, she just wanted to take her mind off of a certain boy.

Once Sophie had come home with some paint; Minerva had intervened. She had insisted on helping, and Sophie had been too polite to decline her off.

Although, she wished she had declined. The last person she wanted to spend a long amount of time with was her twin sister.

Sophie dragged the bucket over. She was trying to be careful, so she wouldn't spill paint on her clothes. It was some old overall she had found at Goodwill, over a black t shirt, but still, she didn't want to risk getting paint on her.

"You brought me the red paint."

Sophie glanced down at her hand. Indeed, the label had noted that she carried the crimson shade. She must have grabbed the wrong bucket while deep in her thoughts.

Her cheeks blushed and she dropped the paint bucket down, and turned on her heel to quickly grab the correct paint.

"You're distracted today."

"I'm fine," Sophie replied quickly. She didn't want to have this discussion with Minerva.

"Drop the attitude," Minerva cut in. "Stop thinking about him."

"About Tenn?" Sophie interjected sarcastically.

"You know who I'm talking about," Minerva sneered. "You're better than that. You need to move on."

"You need to mind your own business," Sophie whispered.

"I'm sorry. What was that?" her sister demanded.

"I said: 'I'm sorry, Minnie'", Sophie tried her best to sound sincere to avoid an argument. She knew as much as she wanted to, she could never actually stand up to her sister.

Minerva softened, ever so slightly. "That's better. I'm just looking out for you."

Sophie had retreated to the opposite side of the room and had started to paint the bottom base of the wall with the white paint she had accidentally brought Minerva. With her back turned to her twin, she had the opportunity to roll her eyes at Minnie's last statement.

"I know, Min. I know."

XXXXX

Dusting off her jeans, Violet smiled to herself as she walked to Clem’s home. They had agreed to meet up after school the day before, looking to get some studying in. However there was a slight complication in that regard.

‘I...I just hope that Clem and I will be able to...will her family be there. I...I don’t want to come across as, well.’ She thought, biting her lip.

She had been trying to ignore it or deny but she could no longer do so, she was sure now that she had a crush on Clem. She reached the front door of Clem’s home and knocked and before long Clem answered.

“Hey, Vi, you made it.” She greeted her. “C’mon in.”

Violet smiled. “Thanks.”

She was about to enter when she noticed something, but quickly entered regardless.

She nevertheless couldn’t help her thoughts. ‘Goddammit Clem, you had to wear those shorts?’

She tried hard not to stare at the cut-off denim shorts that were far higher above her mid-thigh than the skirt she wore to school was. Coupled with the fact she was wearing simple ankle socks with them meant she was seeing more than Clem’s legs than before.

‘Control yourself, Vi, control yourself.’ She told herself.

They headed up to Clem’s room as Violet noted, awkwardly, that they were alone in the house.

Once in the room, Violet pulled out the books they needed, Clem was already set up and soon sat down next to her, checking over everything.

“So, you ready?” She asked.

Violet nodded. “Yeah, let’s start.”

So they did so and began studying, occasionally chatting about part of their work. As they did so, Clementine glanced over at Violet out the corner of her eye, watching as Violet brushed some of her fringe back.

‘Vi, you...you have no idea do you?’ She wondered. ‘I try so hard to be the usual confident person, yet here I am, unable to tell you how I really feel.’

What Clementine didn’t know of course, was that Violet was naturally dealing with the same difficulties. Even so, they still focused on their work, trying to figure out their own building feelings.

Chapter Text

Walking Dead: Sins of the Parents

Episode 1: Chapter 10

Sophie bit her lip to suppress a groan as she walked into school, Minerva by her side. She had been dealing with the building feelings for Kyle she had been noticing for some time now. The problem being that they were now getting noticeable, enough for Minerva to notice them and start giving her grief about them.

“You can’t be doing this Sophie.” Minerva was saying. “Just think for a second, do you really want to put yourself through that again.”

Sophie grimaced at the memories those words stirred. “Minnie, stop. This is ridiculous, you-”

“He’s a boy Sophie, you need to stay away from him.” Minerva snarled.

“Minnie, Kyle isn’t-”

“Kyle Sherman is a boy, you know that is exactly why you have to stay away from him.” Minerva said firmly, eyes narrowed and clearly struggling to contain her anger. “You know what happened to us was because of a boy and-”

Sophie turned to Minerva, shaking her head. “God Minnie, do you hear yourself, that is ridiculous, you know not all boys are like that.”

“Don’t be stupid, you know they are.” Minerva fired back.

Sophie sighed, she had tried to pick the obvious hole in Minerva’s logic, but Minerva was refusing to hear it. Shaking her head she didn’t say anything else, ignoring Minerva’s continued attempts to try and tell her off about Kyle, heading for her locker instead.

Kyle smiled lightly as he made his way towards his locker, he had to admit that he still hadn’t really made sense of things regarding his feelings for Sophie, but he was at least glad to have settled in well and had made good friends with the group. In fact the only problem he seemed to have with the group was Minerva’s aversion to him.

‘But then, given what Sophie told me about her and what I’ve seen of her...I think I’ve got the gist of Minerva’s problem.’ He reflected. ‘So, that’s her problem and not mine.’

It was then he stopped and suppressed a groan as he saw the other major problem he faced, the second of three, Rondi. What Kyle didn’t realize was that Rondi had overheard Sophie talking with Minerva and was now considering Sophie a threat to her, non-existent, chances with Kyle.

So she was determined to make her move, no matter what. “Hey Kyle, there you are-”

“Rondi, don’t start.” He snarled. “You know I’m not-”

“Oh please, we both know you’re just playing hard to get. You don’t have to do that.” She said with a smirk. “You’ve already won me over.”

Kyle shook his head. “I’ve not-”

He was cut off when, to his shock, Rondi actually tried to force herself on him, trying to his kiss him. He reacted at once and shoved her off him.

“Kyle-”

“Are you crazy?” He snapped. “I told you, I’m not interested and I never will be. How many times do I have to tell you before you get it.”

He stalked off, shaking his head, just when the day had started off so well too.

He had almost reached his locker when suddenly he was stopped, but his third problem.

“Still acting as if you belong here, Sherman.”

He groaned and turned, sure enough it was Nick.

“You just don’t know when you’re not wanted.” He snarled.

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Funny, only you and the brainless monkeys you paid off have a problem with me, everybody else is perfectly happy with me being here.”

“Don’t kid yourself, nobody likes you.” Nick growled.

“I think you’re confusing me for you. I’ve asked around you know, you’re the one nobody likes.” Kyle replied calmly.

Red faced Nick stepped right up to Kyle. “You have no idea what I’m capable of Sherman, I saw you, playing with Rondi and no doubt trying to get with how many other girls...You do not want to cross me!”

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know what you were seeing, but it clearly wasn’t what actually happened. I want nothing to do with that Rondi girl, alright. You are clearly deluded if you think otherwise.”

“Lying, acting as if you have any right to be here. You should know better, I have connections you can’t-”

“Whatever.” Kyle said dismissively.

With that he turned and walked away, heading for his locker and leaving the startled and outraged Nick behind.

At her own locker, Sophie smiled lightly as she gathered what she needed and then closed her locker, turning, only to end up face to face with Rondi.

“Wha-”

Rondi was glaring at her and actually grabbed Sophie by her blazer. “You back the hell away from Kyle, bitch.”

She pushed Sophie back against her locker and continued.

“Kyle is mine, got it, you will not steal him from me.”

Sophie recovered herself and tried to get Rondi’s hands off her. “You can’t tell me what to-”

“You will back off.” Rondi growled. “Or I will tell Kyle all about your dirty little secret.”

Sophie froze at that, eyes wide in fear as Rondi let her go and stalked off, leaving Sophie standing, afraid.