After two years of living together, they all had a pretty solid rhythm. Working from home, Dizzy usually made dinner. Jess or Brent did dishes. Whoever didn’t do dishes takes care of trash. And the rest of the house got cleaned on a need basis. The newest addition to their little trio was Stephen, Brent’s newest boyfriend. The kid seriously fell in love every other week though this was the first time that he invited anyone to live with them. The girls were hesitant at first. In fact, Jess’ exact words were “Are you fucking kidding me?” but Brent won over Dizzy and being outvoted Jessika just had to deal.

As it turned out, Stephen was a great guy. He wasn’t as geeky as the rest of them with their gaming addictions, art jams, and nerd movie references but he was funny and he didn’t judge. That probably had a little something to do with the fact that Stephen worked as a stripper and faced plenty of his own public ridicule. Jess even suspected that he could be the elusive unicorn known as a male bisexual, a status even a lot of gays had a problem with. However, Dizzy was convinced that it was just overflow from his job. He couldn’t exactly strip for women if it was obvious that he wasn’t in anyway attracted to them.

( Disclaimer - The following is a little graphic and pretty gory. Reader discretion is advised. )

"Sorry. I wasn't expecting anyone to be in here." Jess muttered about the mess as she led Dale into her tent. It was a decent size but it was obvious she was going to need a new one soon. Most of her stuff was piled up on one side while her bedding was on the other side. It wasn't much. Not at all like the queen size Serta back in her apartment in DC. Just a pad, a sleeping bag, a pillow and an extra blanket. She almost felt like she should apologize but there wasn't anyone in this camp that had much. Dale's set-up was probably the best. "Do you want to sit?"

It's funny how an opinion can change. It wasn't so long ago I was telling Shane how I wanted to run and just keep on running. Now that we are on the run, all I really want is some place to settle. I want to rebuild. I want a life that consists of more than just existing.

I'm really hoping that will be in Fort Benning. I'm worried though. There are really two options here. Either there is no one there to help us and the place is over run with walkers. Or we're about to enter someone else's territory. It could work to our benefit or it could be disastrous. To be honest, I'm scared for both outcomes. Is it wrong that I hope the whole place is empty? That we can make it our own to reinforce and make a home?

Title: Like Nailing Jelly To A Tree
Fandom/original: The Walking Dead
Characters: Jessika Jackson (OC) and Shane Walsh
Rating: PG
Word count: 370

The silence didn’t bother her. In recent days all of them had grown more quiet. It was like their hope burned up with the CDC. What else was there to say?

What bothered Jessika was, well, it was two things really. The first was that she found herself attracted to the most infuriating man in the group. And to think she once thought that was Merle. Boy was she wrong. Merle was frustrating, disgusting, and completely bass ackwards but you saw it coming. He didn’t sucker you in with easy smiles full of dimples or afternoons goofing around with small children. He didn’t make you care about him only to find out he was completely emotionally unavailable. And he certainly didn’t flirt without having any intention of following through.

No, of the two, Shane was definitely the most infuriating and if the glares coming off Lori said anything, Jessika wasn’t the only one to think so.

The second thing that bothered her was that no matter how close she got, she could never quite get a read on him. Jess was great at reading people. That and a wealth of random information were what kept her alive in the weeks before she joined the rest of the group. In these terrible times with the dead walking around eating people, it was the living that were the scariest to deal with so having the ability to discern a person’s motives or intentions was an invaluable trait.

Yet for all her super powers of observation, she couldn’t read him. He treated her like a child, an obligation, a friend, an annoyance, and on very rare occasions a woman. She hated herself for it but she lived for the latter. Those bittersweet moments often hidden in the darkness when no one else was around and he almost seemed to flirt. It was the worst sort of torture because she knew in the light of day with the others present that Shane would be gone and all that would be left was that feeling of frustration and that ridiculous kernel of hope.

They were both holding their breath as the cuffs clicked into place and Jessi straddled his body. "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout." Daryl muttered. Since his hands were bound he lifted his hips to make contact in the only way he could.

Jess lifted her ass so the contact was lessened. She dropped down so her hands were supporting her and her breasts were almost in his face. He tried to bring his mouth up but she moved away before he could do that either. "What the fuck gives?" He grumbled and she just smiled bigger.
( Read more... )

((ooc: Neither Daryl nor Shane were used with permission but both with tons of love.))

The bulk of the supplies were found in a suburban residence except the .45 and 9mm rounds as well as 3 of the books. Those required a very fast and tricky trip into town.

( The Supplies )

When most people thought of supply runs, they thought of stores. During the apocalypse that mental picture included aisles of abandoned food. Rotted perishables, and neatly stacked non-perishables there for the taking. Unfortunately, most stores either ran out or got looted. She always checked just in case. That went for gas stations too.

( Read more... )

Doing the laundry gave her time to think. Her bath? Even more so. She should have kept her mouth shut. What right did she have to speculate who he was sleeping with? It was none of her business. He probably had every right to get pissed. He didn't lead her on. He didn't tell her no but not once did he flirt back or even encourage her. Even if there wasn't another person he was with, he didn't seem like the kind of guy to just shoot a girl down. Chances are he would do exactly what he did by being nice but keeping his distance. Every time she would joke around or flirt with him, he'd make an excuse to leave.

Hello? Big fucking sign.

She should just leave the poor man alone. And she would, just as soon as she apologized. Jess wanted to head right back to camp after her bath but stayed until her clothes and his sleeping bag were fully dry. It took a while. Well, maybe that's a good thing. Hopefully, when she did go to apologize, he wouldn't still be furious.

With her clothes tucked safely in her bag again and her arms full with his sleeping bag, she trekked back to the camp. Once she had his sleeping bag back in his tent and everything inside neat and organized for him, she went to find him. It didn't take long.

Her hands went up, to show she was unarmed and she meant no harm. "Shane, do you think I can talk to you a moment?"