Lucy's POV

I drag Alex over to the toys section, more specifically to the bikes. When we reach them, I look back at him to see a wide grin stretch across his features like a little kid on Christmas. Suddenly he grips my hand tighter and starts pulling me faster.

"Whoa Alex, don't pull my arm off!" I laugh.

He stops in front of the rows and rows of bikes and searches for one that catches his eye. I let my eyes scan the rows as well, letting them fall on a glittery purple gear bike.

"YEAH, I FOUND IT!" Alex shouts excitedly. I turn to see him plucking out a red trick bike with little flames licking the frame.

I raise an eyebrow at him and shake my head. "Flames are so last decade Alex." I say sarcastically while pulling bike out from the rack.

He sticks his tongue out playfully. "Well at least I didn't pick out an old lady bike."

"How many old ladies do you know that ride gear bikes? Not many I'd imagine."

He narrows his eyes, knowing I got him there. "Whatever. Let's race! First one to the deli wins."

"You're on." I challenge.

He quickly mounts his bike and I copy his movements, poised to start pedaling whenever the word is given.

Alex raises an eyebrow at me and smirks. "GO!"

We push off and start pedaling as fast as we can. It takes a few seconds to get a steady speed and by that time we reach the end of the aisle. I cut in front of him and cause him to slow down a bit, but in a second or two he's right beside me again. As we turn down another aisle Alex gets the upper hand and speeds past me, but in his haste he almost barrels right into Jack.

"Whoa shit!" Jack jumps out of the way just in time.

Alex looses control of the bike though and runs right into the racks, sending all kinds of dolls raining down on him.

"FUCK!" Alex shouts as a particularly ugly Barbie falls on his head.

Jack and I are doubled over with laughter at the sight of him before I finally get enough breath to speak.

"You okay 'Lex?" I ask, my eyes widening a bit when I hear the nickname roll off my tongue as I help him up. I see the sides of his mouth twitch up before he starts laughing.

"Yea I'm fine, and I would've had you if it weren't for this dumbass." Alex says playfully, punching Jack in the arm.

"Ow! Hey, I heard someone shout so I came looking for you guys." He rubs his arm but starts laughing again. "I guess you just went looking for some recreational relief."

We all start laughing again and Jack goes to get a bike as well. Alex takes the chance to plant a quick kiss on my lips, lightly placing his hands on my hips. I smile into the kiss then sigh in content as he tests our foreheads together.

"Am I interrupting anything?" I hear Jack ask curiously.

Alex grins and pecks my lips again. "Just a little bit, Jack."

The next hour or so is spent being idiots riding around the store aimlessly, singing and shouting like crazy people. Then we get called to dinner, and basically repeat last night's routine; eat, movies, bed. Except this time I'm able to walk myself to bed, holding Alex's hand all the while.

Alex and I are the first ones to go to bed again and we lay down facing each other. We just look into each others eyes for a few minutes, relishing the others presence. It's still crazy to believe that here I am with the singer of my favorite band, who's now sliding an arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him. I smile and reach my hand behind his head and tangle my fingers in his hair.

An unpleasant thought occurs to me suddenly, one that hasn't been properly addressed. I frown at sudden change of mindset.

"What if that fire makes it here and we're not ready for it?" I bite down on my lip and look at him anxiously.

His eyebrows scrunch up slightly, my words taking him by surprise. "Well, I don't know. I guess we just have to keep an eye on it."

I ponder that for a minute, then I have an idea. "What if we just grab anything we might need from around the store and stash it in the bus until it's time to leave. Like, any supplies or nonperishable food you know?"

He nods his head a bit. "Yea, that's a good idea. Because if it does come our way and we so that, we'll be able to just up and leave here. Good thinking 'Lu." He says and gives me a quick kiss.

At least, it starts off as a quick kiss. The hand that's still tangled in his hair fists up, tugging on the light brown strands, causing Alex to bite down on my lip. His tongue runs along the spot where he bit and I part my lips to allow him access, enjoying the feel of his tongue connecting with mine; the contact sends shivers down my spine. After a minute or so I feel a hand on the back of my knee as Alex hooks my leg around his thigh to get us closer. I let one of my hands wander down his clothed chest, eventually slipping under his shirt to explore the expanse of warm skin.

His lips break away from mine and instead move down to my neck, kissing, nipping, and sucking whatever skin his lips touched. I feel him tug my shirt down enough to expose my collarbone, which he immediately starts to attack. A small whimper escapes me as his teeth graze and nip at my skin, and I run my nails down his back. I feel his hips roll up against mine and he lets out a small moan at the friction. It's obvious by now that's he's got an issue forming in his pants.

It's then that I realize I don't know where this is going to end, and I become a little hesitant. Either Alex senses it or feels the same way because he suddenly breaks away and jumps to his feet. I almost feel hurt, but then he speaks.

"I gotta take care of something real quick, I'll be right back." He says hurriedly, his voice husky and breathless, and awkwardly jogs in the direction of the bathroom.

I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing at how ridiculous he looks, practically waddling away with a boner. I'm glad he decided to stop though, I think we got a little carried away. That probably would've progressed into something neither of us were probably ready for at the moment.

By the time Alex comes back, I'm almost asleep. But I hear his footsteps echoing off the floor, and open my eyes to see him looking down at me sheepishly, cheeks flushed.

"Get that problem taken care of alright?" I tease.

He sticks his tongue out playfully at me. "Shush. It's been a while okay?" He lays down next me again. "I didn't mean to run out on you like that. I just thought it'd be better if I took care of things—this time."

I smirk at the slight pause at the end of his sentence, but I'm glad he was thinking the same thing as me.

"Thank you for being a gentleman then." I say, catching his lips in a quick kiss before turning over to sleep.

Alex slides his arm around my waist hesitantly and I hold his hand to reassure him. Then he scoots his body closer to mine so we're spooning.

"Goodnight Lucy." He says, threading our fingers together and kissing my neck.

I hum in response and give his hand a squeeze, feeling suddenly taken over by exhaustion.

* * *
The next two days go by so fast. We've still practiced every morning, but more with hand-to-hand weapons now to conserve our ammo. We discussed my idea with the group of gathering supplies and stashing them on the bus so we'll be able to make a hasty retreat if we need to, so we've been doing that.

The winds outside have been calm as well, and the fire seems to have slowed down, though it has gotten considerably closer and continues to burn. Alex and I are scouting it out on the roof, standing in the blanket of snow that has formed up there. It really hasn't stopped snowing since the day Grieco was buried. Everyone else is inside practicing with weapons.

The sky is even blacker with smoke, and the air is almost suffocating. The orange glow of the flames is definitely visible now, and there are little bits of ash floating down from the dark sky and speckling the snow with gray.

"I think we'll have to leave tonight, or in the morning." Alex whispers.

I glance up at him anxiously, then look back at the burning sky, clutching at mymom's necklace that I'd almost forgotten about. "I think you're right. But where do we go?"

He looks down at me, fear noticeable in his eyes. "I don't know."

* * *

That night we all start to pack up whatever else we're going to need and sit down for one more dinner here in Walmart. Colussy makes his amazing burgers again and we try to enjoy ourselves, because who knows when we'll get another chance for things to be like this. Almost free from danger and worry.

It's when everyone finishes eating that the elephant in the room is addressed.

"Um.. Where do we go when we leave here exactly?" Evan asks.

That shuts everyone up immediately. Not much thought has really been given to this issue, we've just been concerned with the here and now.

Alex puts a hand on the back of his neck and rubs it anxiously. "Don't really know, Evan." He says. "I guess we should've discussed that a little more.."

"Could we look for more survivors? Or try to find help? Surely the national guard or the army or the navy, or someone must be around to help! They can't all just be wiped out, right? I mean, fuck." Rian rambles nervously.

A dark cloud settles over the group that hadn't been there before. The realization of everything hits everyone hard suddenly.

"What the fuck are we going to do?" Vinny asks, burying his face in his hands.

A few minutes of silence go by, nobody is sure what to say.

"Umm.. Does anyone else smell smoke?" Zack asks nervously.

All heads snap up on unison, fear visible on a couple faces. We all quickly make our way to the stairs that lead to the roof, hoping not to see the worst. That hope is extinguished quickly.

When we get to the roof door, we can definitely smell the smoke; it's almost unbearable. The door is opened and we're met with an unforgiving sight; the winds have picked up so much since the last time anyone was up here that the fire actually managed to make it to the store. Bright, blazing flames lick their way up the side of the building, having crossed the parking lot because of some nearby trees. The smoke burns my eyes and a few of us start coughing.

"We have to leave, NOW!" Flyzik yells, finally back from the brink.

We dash back down the stairs and grab whatever we have left to carry, including our weapons and backpacks.

"Do we have everything we need? Food, toiletries, clothes, weapons, medical supplies?" Flyzik asks, his voice is calm but his eyes are frantic. Everyone nods and we take that as our signal to get the hell out of here.

Yesterday we had decided to park the bus in front of the store so it would possibly be further away from the fire, and closer to the road. We were only met with a few zombies yesterday, After taking a few minutes to clear enough of the barricade from the doors to get out, we finally do so. Here, we are also met with an unfriendly sight.

The fire managed to creep around the side of the building, now burning only a couple hundred feet from where the bus is parked. That's not all though. There are at least ten zombies walking about between us and the bus. Alex pulls out a baseball bat and I unsheath my sword, the rest of the group doing the same with their weapons.

"Try to save your ammo." Colussy says stiffly.

The first couple of zombies notice us slowly approaching and rush at us. I quickly step forward taking a deep breath and swinging the sword with all my might, connecting it with the zombie's neck. I heard a wet slicing noise and watch as the bloody head falls to the ground with a moist thump, the body soon following suit.

We smash and slice our way quick to the bus, Colussy yanking the door open to start the bus. Flyzik ushers us up the steps, but it takes a minute or so, Alex and I being the last to get on the bus. Enough time for a surprise zombie to run at us, sprinting out of the fire, the smell of burning flesh bearing down on my nose. The zombie itself is still ablaze and it knocks right into Alex, barreling them to the ground.

I'm practically frozen for a good five seconds, watching helplessly as Alex holds off his attacker by bringing his bat to it's throat using both hands, flames burning at his clothes. I finally get a grip and Flyzik and I push the zombie off of Alex and yank him up, pretty much throwing him onto the bus, the two of us following quickly and slamming the door shut.

I feel the bus lurch forward as Colussy guns it, getting us away as quickly as possible. We take a minute to catch our breath, and then I hear the pain-filled moans. I look down at Alex who's still laying on the floor and see that he's got a few nasty looking burns on his torso and arms from the zombie, no bites though thank God.

His hair is sweaty and plastered to his forehead, eyes squeezed shut in pain. I get down beside him and inspect his wounds; nothing too serious, but they did need to be treated immediately.

"Matt, go find some of the medical supplies we packed in here." I say calmly. Flyzik nods and dashes away.

"Fuck it hurts.." Alex says weakly.

I move some of the hair away from his eyes and kiss his forehead and then his lips gently, not caring who sees. "Shh it's okay, you'll be alright. We'll have you patched up in a minute."

He smiles wearily and lets out a shaky breath. It tears me to see him hurt so much, but I'll make sure that's fixed.

"Am I taking us back to the gun store?" Colussy asks suddenly.

I look back at everyone else and see several nods. "Yea. We have to make sure we get all the ammo we can possibly find. Maybe we should spend the night there." I say, turning my attention to Colussy, who nods in agreement.

Matt returns with a fully equipped medical kit that we found stashed somewhere in the store. He pulls out a can of antibacterial spray and a tube of burn ointment before ripping off Alex's charred shirt.

"This is gonna sting Alex, I'm sorry." Flyzik says sympathetically, then starts to spray the burns down.

"FUCK!" Alex shouts, squeezing his eyes shut again.

I let Alex squeeze my hand and watch him grit his teeth through the stinging. But it's worth it by the time Matt starts rubbing the burn ointment over the wounds. When he's finished, Alex lets out a sigh of relief.

"Feel better?" I ask encouragingly, getting a weary nod in response.

Matt wraps and covers the burns with more ointment and some gauze, then hands Alex a bottle of water and some pain-killers.

"Thanks Matt." Alex says gratefully propping himself up on his elbows.

"Of course man, I'm just glad you're okay. You wanna lay down in your bunk?"

Alex nods. "That'd be great." I help him stand and follow him to the bunks, being towed along by his hand.

He slides carefully into the dark space and makes grabby hands at me, making me smile. "C'mere." He says tiredly.

"But I stink." I say as he grabs my wrist and pulls me into the bunk with him.

"I don't care, so do I." He chuckles, leaning in to kiss me softly on the lips. "We did it. We made it out of there somehow. You sure showed those zombies who's boss"

I nod into his neck and yawn, cuddling carefully into his side, thinking about what almost happened to him. "I'm so happy you're okay Alex," my voices catches a little bit. "I thought I was gonna lose you."

He strokes my hair and yawns as well, wrapping an arm around my waist protectively. "Don't you worry babe, I'm not leaving you yet."

I feel my cheeks heat up at the nickname and smile into his chest. "Good." I whisper.

And with that we drift off to sleep, still unsure of what lies ahead for us.