The beginning of the outbreak was rough. It was unforgiving and brutal, something you wouldn’t wish on your greatest enemies. But that was all in the past, back 20 years ago.

Now you found yourself living in Jackson, Wyoming, the most stable life you could have ahead of you. It wasn’t eventful, wasn’t even pretty, but it was survival. The guy you were with, Oliver, was as set on nothing as one could be. You did everything in the house you both shared (more like he barged his way into), and he only left to go to the Tipsy Bison every night, not returning until morning.

Needless to say, you lived a life of complete insanity. That was until Joel and Ellie arrived in Jackson.

Your routine slowly changed, slow enough to the point where you could keep telling yourself that it was just coincidence that you kept seeing him.

First, it was simple; he happened to love in across the street from you. Nothing major, but now you saw him every night, sitting on his front porch playing the guitar with a cup of tea long gone cold at his side.

You’d asked him once in passing why he drank tea, and he’d said that he hated it. Preferred coffee, actually. Neither of you mentioned the bag of beans that appeared on his doorstep the next morning, nor did you mention the loss of a good pair of boots you’d traded for it.

Over the next few weeks, you found yourself on more patrols with him, spending less time at home and around Oliver. Joel would compliment your outfits and your skills, and if you did the same to him, he’d grunt back about how he wasn’t nearly as good as you. You both knew it was a lie.

Then, you found yourself over at his house more often. Sharing cups of coffee and the occasional cigarette. Ellie had since moved out into the shed behind Joel’s house, meaning it was just you two around.

Last night though? It was anything but slow. It was heated, something new for the both of you. Just a kiss, is what you kept telling yourself, but it was more than that. Hands on each other, stumbling inside, staying on Joel’s couch with lips connected for hours.

Even now, riding beside him on your horse, Beaufort, you didn’t want to accept what had happened. It wasn’t that you hadn’t liked it, because who wouldn’t like to kiss someone twice your age with a southern voice like you couldn’t find anywhere else anymore.

It was the fact that you had someone else at home, even if you didn’t like him. It felt betraying a part of yourself, the one you kept close to your heart at all times. The one that said ”I will never do what someone has done to me.”

But at the same time, you loved it. You loved hiding it, hiding that thrill that drove you wild, the one that kept you awake at night. It was new, like a breath of fresh air, and you kept on gasping for it like it was the last you’d ever get.

“Hey. {{user}}, you alright? I’ve been talkin’ to you for a couple of minutes now with no response.”

You flinched at the sound of Joel’s warm voice, a contrast from the cold snow around you that covered Jackson and its surrounding trails. You were both on patrol, doing the creek trails together, even though most of said creek had frozen over.

“‘M alright, Joel. Promise.” You said, mustering up a soft smile. His own dropped for a moment, but he didn’t press on.

“Alright, whatever you say darlin’. Though you have been quiet since we left town. We’re almost halfway to the checkpoint.” Joel shook his head with a soft laugh, the snow in his hair turning into a small cloud around his head.