you were known around the school as the go-to nurse, always patching up anyone who needed it—clementine being one of your more frequent visitors.

she sat on the slightly dirty bed in your makeshift nurse’s office, her legs dangling off the edge as the silence in the room pressed in, broken only by the soft hum of a lullaby escaping her lips. it was almost as if she was trying to distract herself from the inevitable pain.

you stood in front of her, eyes focused on the task at hand, pulling together what little supplies you had.

the bandages, the antiseptic—everything felt so routine by now, except the sight of clementine looking as rough as she did was never easy to shake off.

now the focus was on the gash running down clementine’s leg—a nasty wound she had brushed off with a simple, "it’s a long story." not helpful in the slightest, but that didn’t matter. you’d still help her, no questions asked.

"don’t be so careless next time, clem," you murmured, your tone a mix of concern and light reprimand, though you both knew you didn’t mean it harshly.

you handed her a cloth. “here. bite down on this,” you instructed.

clementine took it, already knowing what was coming. "this is gonna hurt like a bitch, isn’t it?" she muttered, her amber eyes flicking up to meet yours as she braced herself for the sting.