.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

Stella held a tight grip on her gun as she stood in front of the big supermarket watching Daryl bang his fist against the window. It was a method that they used during their runs to draw the walkers to the sound, giving them a better understanding of how many were in there.

"Okay, I think I got it," Zach spoke up.

Stella scoffed. "Here we go."

"Got what?" Michonne asked to which the boy explained that he had been trying to figure out Dayl's old occupation.

"He's been trying for what? Like six weeks." Levi smiled, draping his arm around Stella ready to watch him fail to figure it out like he had many times before.

"One guess per day," Zach explained to Michonne before turning back to Daryl who told him to give it yet another shot. "Well, the way you are at the prison, you being on the council, you're being able to track, you're helping people but you're being kind of... surly. Big swing here... Homicide cop." The boy finished confidently. The group around them was sent into a fit of laughter at the thought of Daryl Dixon being a cop.

"What's so funny?" Daryl asked them with a crooked smile.

Stella shook her head laughing. "Nothing. It makes perfect sense."

Daryl rolled his eyes before his face turned into a mask of full seriousness. "Actually the man's right. Undercover." He lied, making Zach's eyes widen as he believed him.

"Oh come on, really?" He said with surprise, earning a nod from Daryl. Stella exchanged a quick glance with Michonne who stood opposite her as they both knew that he was lying. Soon, Zach too saw through the lie and cleared his throat.

"Okay, I guess I'll keep guessing." He admitted just as walkers slammed their bodies against the other side of the glass which the group took as their sign to head inside.

"Let's go, detective," Stella said jokingly as she approached the entrance to the mall, still being held under Levi's arm. Daryl and Michonne took out the few walkers inside before the whole group stepped into the building.

Stella grabbed a shopping cart, sending Levi a smile as the two separated from the rest heading deeper into the store. Stella passed the aisles, grabbing the necessary as she rolled the cart in front of her. It was moments like these that made Stella realize how much she missed her old life. But the old her was so far gone and the memories felt distant. On runs like these, she was given a sneak peek into what life used to look like and what life could've looked like if shit hadn't hit the fan. Levi walked behind her, admiring her every step as she almost skipped through the floor with excitement. The store was dark, lacking any lights but Stella's excitement was enough to light up the isle they were walking through.

Suddenly the girl in front of him stopped and gasped at the sight of piled bags of Skittles. "Finally!" A bright smile spread over her face, enough to make Levi's heart skip a beat at the sight. She shoved a few bags into the cart. "They're Ellie's favorite and she's been nagging me about them every time we go out. You'd be surprised by the amount of Skittles people eat in an apocalypse. I haven't found any until now." She explained.

"Get them all." Levi smiled and nudged his head to the stocks of candy.

"Yeah, I'm sure Daryl will be happy with us when he sees that we grabbed two batteries and three tons of Skittles." She said, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Oh, come on. If Ellie wants them so bad you should get them for her."

Stella stared at him, hesitating for a moment before the bright smile made a reappearance on her face as she assisted Levi with shoving them all down.

She glanced around to make sure no one was in sight before opening one of the packages. The familiar fruity taste filled her mouth as she shoved some Skittles into it.

"Want one?" She said with her mouth filled with candy while holding out the package for Levi.

"I'm good." He flashed her a smile. He'd much rather look at her as she excitedly ate the candy, reminding him of a child on Christmas. He chuckled.

"What?" She asked like his words had been a personal insult.

Levi laughed. "Just never been a Skittles guy, I guess."

Stella almost choked on her skittles. "How can you not be a Skittles guy? What's wrong with you?"

Levi let another laugh slip out his mouth. "I take that you like Skittles."

"I wuve skwittles." Her words were muffled by the amount of candies in her mouth. The package was empty by now. The two exchanged a smile after Stella had swallowed the last Skittles.

"So what candy do you like?" The blonde asked when they began walking again. She felt stupid for asking such a simple question. The two had known each other for so long but still, she didn't know the answer. But material things such as favorite candies had no meaning in an apocalyptic world.

Levi hummed. Even he was unsure of the answer. "Chocolate I guess."

"That's such a basic answer." She replied with a smile. The boy opened his mouth to say something back but before the words left his mouth, Stella's attention had permanently shifted to a camera on one of the shelves.

An excited exhale escaped her lips and she immediately let go of the cart before she rushed up to it, holding it out for Levi to see. "I was thinking about this exact thing earlier. I need to get pictures with everyone."

"Here, let me take a picture of you," Levi suggested reaching for the camera.

"Not here." Stella shook her head with a smile.

"Oh, come on. Why?" He cocked his head to the left, his gaze plastered on her as he grinned.

"I haven't showered. My hair is all gross." Stella's face scrunched up as she dragged her hand through her greasy hair.

"Oh, shut up. You're beautiful." Levi said with an admiring look in his eyes.

"And you're a terrible liar." She smiled, grabbing the camera from the boy. "Plus, if you're gonna get a picture of me, might as well make it good. Not in some supermarket."

Levi stood up straight with a growing smile as an idea popped up in his head. "Alright. When we get back, what do you say, I take you back to the house where you played the piano for me."

"You mean the house where you kissed me for the first time?" She grinned.

"Yeah, it's not that far from the prison."

"Is that a date?" Stella smirked, narrowing her eyes playfully.

"No, it's a supply run," Levi said sarcastically, folding his arms over his chest before letting out a small laugh. "Let's go, we're not done shopping yet. We haven't even made it to the liquor aisle." He grinned, placing a quick kiss on Stella's head before wrapping his arm around her, bringing her close as they kept walking through the aisles.

Stella's stomach fluttered with excitement, feeling Levi's body against hers. It didn't matter that they had been in a relationship for almost six months, he still didn't fail to fluster her every time he placed a hand on her.

Suddenly the two stopped when they heard a loud crash making them turn instantly. They didn't hesitate to race to the sound while Levi made sure that Stella was behind him at all times.

They arrived at the scene to see that one of the shelves had fallen on top of Bob, trapping him underneath. The group hurried to attempt to lift the shelf off him. Stella grabbed the underside of it before using all her strength to push it up.

They only managed to lift the first one before their heads immediately spun around at the crashing sound of the roof collapsing over them. Stella watched in horror as the first walker fell through it but stopped mid-air as his guts had gotten stuck in the part of the roof that still was intact leaving his body to hang over them. Insides and blood spewed out from its body, pooling the floor. Levi took a swift step forward, shielding Stella with his body. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"Bob's still stuck. We need to get him out of there." Stella said, rushing back to the shelf they had been trying to lift earlier.

The walkers began to rain from the ceiling crashing onto the floor, surrounding the group. Stella backed away in pure panic as the fear of not knowing if a walker could fall on top of her pulsed through her body. Her hand was quickly wrapped around the machete in her holster, pulling it out just as a walker crashed onto the floor in front of her. She didn't think twice before slicing its head in half.

As the walkers began to pile up on the floor, Levi instantly let go of the shelf as his mind was set on Stella. He joined up next to her seeing that blood had already splattered on her clothes. For a second he thought that it was hers before letting out a relieved sigh at the sight of a dead walker on the floor. 

"Stay close" Levi ordered Stella, holding her gaze in his, sending her a commanding look. Stella usually hated taking orders from others, especially Levi since the boy always tried to protect her in situations where she clearly could take care of herself.

The dead crashed down on the shelves and the floors falling freely to the ground as the group got separated from each other trying to fight them off. Stella and Levi released their grip on each other, standing back to back as they took down the walkers that came at them. They heard the distant screams and grunts from their group, making their stomachs turn into worry.

Blood splattered back on them as they took down the dead that approached them but they kept in formation, not leaving each other's side. Adrenaline ran through their veins. They both tried to remain calm, knowing that they had managed to take down bigger hordes of walkers than these on their own. Their main objective was to keep together and not lose each other out of sight.

But it didn't take long until Stella found herself distancing from Levi as she stumbled deeper into the aisles to fight off the horde of walkers that stumbled closer to her. The loss of contact of his back against hers sent a stab of fear into her gut. Her eyes flashed around in panic trying to locate the boy but the only thing in her view was the many walkers. Suddenly all her attention shifted to trying to find him. She wrapped her hands around the weapon in her hand, taking down anything in sight, hoping to get a sight of the boy again. Her heart raced in her chest as her weapon sliced through the air, colliding with the heads of the dead around her.

"Stella!" She heard the boy call out. The boy's name got caught in her throat, a strangled whisper for help, as she felt herself getting grabbed from behind, the impact making her trip forward dropping her weapon as she did. She turned around, gaining control of her balance to see the walker stubble into her causing her to crash into one of the shelves behind her. Her hand went to its neck in an attempt to push it off or at least keep it from digging its teeth into her skin. Another walker came into view from behind the corner and panic crawled up her spine.

Being pressed against the shelf, her free hand traveled over it in desperation to find something that she could use as a weapon. Her fingers were instantly wrapped around something hard and metal. Without hesitation, she used all her force to let the item collide with the walker's head, blood splattering over her face. Just as she did, she felt the other walker throw itself on her, making them both crash into the floor, letting out a pained grunt as her body met the hard surface where Stella found herself trapped under the walker that so eagerly tried to bite at her skin.

She heard Levi's voice call out for her once again, further away this time. He was looking in the wrong direction. She tried to cry out for him but the adrenaline had overcome her only letting her whisper faint help.

She struggled to keep the dead off her, kicking and pushing violently without making any actual damage. The many defense lessons that she had spent with Levi flashed through her mind but she couldn't remember once when they had practiced a situation like this, having a walker on top of her. They had practiced the same situation but against a human. The walkers were different. With a human, the hits and punches would cause them pain but the walkers were mindless and insensitive beings.

She tried to reach for the weapon she had dropped, her fingertips only grazing against the handle. It was obvious that it was out of reach but that didn't stop her from desperately trying to grab it. The walker's mouth got closer to her skin to the point where it almost made contact. Stella cried out in despair a bit louder this time, using all her strength to push it back.

As soon as she did, Levi came up behind it, not wasting a second before driving his knife through its head making it instantly fall lifeless on top of the girl. Stella stared at the brunette in pure shock, not being able to think straight as she had just been seconds away from dying.

"I told you not to leave me." He sounded like he was close to tears as he pulled Stella from the floor, bringing her near. Stella remained in the boy's arms for a moment as she struggled to catch her breath. He placed a long relieved kiss on the top of her head before bringing her to the center of the store where the rest of the group stood gathered. Stella counted them in her head making sure that everyone was there. The second she did, her eyes instantly widened at the sound of Zach's scream. She watched him fall to the floor with a walker climbing on top of him. She felt herself being pulled behind Levi as the group stared at the scene of the dead bringing its teeth into Zach's throat. Blood gushed from the wound as a chilling scream in agony escaped his lips. Her mind instantly went to Beth and she felt her heart clench. The girl really had a thing for him and this news would be heartbreaking for her.

Before she had any chance to do anything about it or even react she was being pulled away from the scene by Levi who followed the rest of the group to race out of the store making it to the exit only seconds before the helicopter crashed through the ceiling bringing the whole roof with it.

_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____
𝟐𝟓𝟕𝟔 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____

𝐀/𝐍
this chapter was meh.