We walked for what felt like hours, just going in circles, before stumbling across what we thought was an exit but turned out to be overrun with walkers. But finally, somehow, we had managed to escape unscathed and Nick was reunited with his mother and sister.

I stood by on the sidelines, my eyes glued to their little reunion as warmth bubbled up inside of me. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips just as Nick's chocolate-brown gaze connected to mine over the heads of Madison and Alicia. My expression faltered slightly and I glanced away hurriedly, hoping beyond all hope that he hadn't noticed. But, of course, he noticed everything I did.

I got lost in the shuffle then as various people - Luciana included - were herded off to their makeshift medical center, although it wasn't exactly accidental - more purposeful than anything. I wasn't really in the mood to have the confrontation with Nick which I knew was surely inevitable. He was going to ask why I'd been acting strangely, why I was avoiding him, and most importantly, why I was so hostile to Luciana. She seemed like a nice girl, I really had no qualms with her. But...there was a part of my heart, perhaps all of it, which would always belong to Nick Clark. No matter who he was with.

I was standing beside one of the trucks, talking with one of the soldiers when it happened: shots rang out, piercing the air with the noise. My eyes locked on the walkers spilling out of the compound and my heart began to race in my chest. Where was Nick?

It was chaos - walkers everywhere, soldiers shooting down what they could, and others being ripped to bloody shreds limb from limb. Making it to the medical area in record time, I managed to help Alicia and Travis move Luciana in direction of a helicopter waiting nearby.

Nick should have been right behind me, waiting in the wings for his precious girlfriend. But instead, I heard Madison's name being called out into the fray and Nick was racing across the concrete to where she stood, battling the dead. Alicia called Travis back to us as he had been trying to reach the pair and without thinking, I snagged a screwdriver off one of the crates beside me and jumped into the thick of it.

Blood splattered across my neck and the back of my knuckles as I jammed it the screwdriver into the brain of a passing walker. A putrid smell burst free of its cranium and I wrinkled my nose in disgust as I kept going, slashing and grabbing as I did. My only priority was to get to Nick.

Madison cried out, pointing behind me then and I barely had time to spin around as the walker behind me went down with a squelching noise and a heavy thud. Nick's dark eyes locked on mine and I nodded my thanks to him as we kept going. Alicia, Travis, and Luciana had escaped to the helicopter now and the man we had previously met, Troy, was beckoning to us from an army truck just up ahead.

I shared a glance with Nick and Madison, knowing the decision had already been made for us as the dead closed in on all sides. The three of us leaped for the sides of the truck and was dumped in unceremoniously as Troy rapped the side of the truck and we started moving in the opposite direction of the horde.

We sat huddled together, Nick and I, on the opposite side of the truck-bed from Madison and Troy as the vehicle spun out onto the dirt road. Her eyes followed the helicopter as it flew on ahead of us, concern etched into the fiber of her very being. I knew that look well - it was in my own eyes every time Nick was in danger. That danger now being 100x more dangerous than it was pre-outbreak.

"We'll meet them there!" Troy shouted over the sound of the truck engine and the helicopter above, "We're all going to the same place now!"

As the vehicle hit a pothole in the road, my shoulder brushed Nick's and I fought back the shiver that raced up my spine at the simple touch. I was about to pull away, to give myself some distance from him when his arm wrapped around my shoulders and brought me flush against him. His body was warm on mine, making me lose my sense of focus when my gaze snapped to his in the fading sunlight. Madison and Troy were lost in conversation, her asking him more details about where they were taking us now.

"Why do you keep doing that? What's been going on with you? I thought you'd be happy to see me," Nick said quietly, the undertone of hurt evident in his words at the last sentence although he had tried to mask it.

I shrugged, avoiding his eyes despite the difficulty seeing as how close we were, "Doing what? I don't know what you're talking about. You know I'm happy that you're here,"

"Are you though? Because you haven't really acted like it. You've barely spoken to me since you found me and Lucy at the compound,"

A scowl flashed across my face at the mention of his pet-name for her but I smoothed it into that of indifference quickly. However, not quick enough for Nick whose eyes narrowed at the sight.

"This is about Luciana. Isn't it?" he asked then, tilting his head to the side.

I could practically see the gears turning in his head, trying to suss out the reason behind my strange behavior towards her. Shrugging once again, I made to move away but once more, Nick had caught me and pulled me close. A knowing smile was growing across his features and I didn't like it one bit.

"It's not...wait...are you...jealous of Luciana?"

His tone was light, teasing and the heat of embarrassment flamed my cheeks as I looked away.

"No, of course not. Why would I be?"

"Well, I don't know. You have no reason to be,"

That one hit me right in the heart. He had a fair point - I really had no reason to be jealous of anyone he dated. It's not as if we had ever been together. Granted, I was in love with him but he didn't know that.

Nick's eyes were sparkling with mischief and the pleasure of teasing me as he leaned in so close that I could feel his warm breath tickling the shell of my ear, "After all, you're the one I've always wanted - not her,"

The words rolled over me like a bolt of electricity. I was briefly reminded of that one scene in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones when Anakin and Obi-Wan sped through some power couplings and got electrocuted. It felt just like that...but in a good way.

My head snapped to the side, facing him fully as he smiled over at me, those cocoa-brown eyes dancing in the rays of the sunset just over my shoulder.

"But...what-how-when? What?" I stumbled over my words and a light chuckle burst free from Nick's throat.

In that moment, he looked just like an angel bathed in glowing luminescence.

"I don't know the when, what or, how - I just know it's always been you. There was never a time it wasn't," Nick admitted, keeping his voice low and soft so to keep the conversation just between the two of us.

"But what about Gloria? Or Luciana even?" I asked, still not daring to hope it was true, so scared that I would be disappointed in the end.

But he only shook his head as he replied, "I was trying to get over you when I was with Gloria. And Luciana and I are just good friends - nothing more,"

As I felt my heart soar in my chest, Nick leaned in so close that our breath mingled with each other's.

"I've always loved you...didn't you know that?"

Elation washed over me and I could feel a bright smile lighting up my features, one which he returned happily. In response, I did something so reckless I even surprised myself. In front of everyone, I bridged the gap between us and kissed Nick Clark for the first time in my life. His mouth was warm and soft on my own, our lips moving in sync. My skin tingled where he touched me, holding my body close to his own.

When we finally pulled apart, Madison was grinning over at us like a proud mama bear. I had a feeling she had been waiting on this for the past 20 years or so. Rolling my eyes, I moved my head to snuggle into Nick's shoulder to avoid her gaze and the inevitable teasing that I knew would come.

A comfortable silence stretched between us then, the only sound to be heard that of truck tires and the whir of helicopter blades that was growing fainter by the moment. My gaze landed on Troy then who was watching the road ahead, probably for any sign of walkers. I cocked my head to the side and Nick, noticing, smiled slightly.

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if your mom was a fan of Gotham before," I mused out loud.

"Why?"

"I thought maybe she'd gotten some pointers from Fish. She, too, dug an eyeball out with a spoon. Granted, it was her own but, man, she just reached in there and yanked-"

"Please don't finish that story."