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Stubborn Love- A Modern/AU Walking Dead Story	By : ImagineLayla131 Category: S through Z > The Walking Dead Views: 2907 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH TWD FRANCHISE NO MONEY/PROFIT IS BEING MADE!

Chapter List
- 23
- 24
- 25
Hi everybody! AGAIN NOT looking forward to this Jessie romance, the actress is more attractive as a redhead in my opinion. Rick looks better with a brunette and this all just feels rushed to me. I forgot to mention in the last chapter that Shawn and Arnold are Hershel's sons in the comics, so I just mashed it up for who Melody thought was Aiden, and in this chapter Yumiko is from the comics as well.
I am trying to finish the latest chapter of Forever Rising Phoenix, I've been having horrible jaw and ear pain, but I think I'm close to being done. Turns out I need to have my wisdom teeth removed! :/ I am only 2 reviews away from being the highest reviewed Gareth story in all of FanFiction, which includes language, genre, and rating! Thank you to everybody that has reviewed so far, you made me so happy! :)
I wanna give a special shout out to my beta reader texasbelle91, as well as AthenaLentz20, BiggestWalkingDeadAddict, bluecrush611, Chloe Cannon 3, DarylDixon'sgirl1985, Headwalkerz, He-Who-Shall-Live, Hey01ig, Lego Kid At Heart, Prettyprincess45, and SilverSun09. Please check out their stories, because they are freaking awesome!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATIONS WITH KING AND LIONHEART. ALL PROPERTIES OWNED BY OF MONSTERS AND MEN, RESPECTIVELY. I ONLY OWN MY OWN ORIGINAL IDEAS AND CHARACTERS.
Chapter Twenty Four: King and Lionheart
FIVE DAYS LATE
The Grimes Residence, Thursday, 3:30 pm
LORI
"Howling ghosts – they reappear
In mountains that are stacked with fear
But you're a king and I'm a lionheart.
And in the sea that's painted black,
Creatures lurk below the deck
But you're a king and I'm a lionheart.
And as the world comes to an end
I'll be here to hold your hand
'Cause you're my king and I'm your lionheart."
"Melody?" I knocked on the door, hoping she'd answer. Ever since her breakup with Gareth on Saturday, Melody had isolated herself in her room, blasting "King and Lionheart" by Of Monsters and Men and crying her eyes out.
"Come in."
I walked in the room, barely able to see anything because the blinds were drawn and she had put Frozen duct tape over the tops and bottoms to block out the sun, wads and wads of balled up Kleenex strewn all over the floor.
The only people that she let in were me and Carl, but after the first day, with the exception of Beth coming over to visit, she wanted to be alone. In all honesty, Melody's depression now was worse than it had been when Aiden died, and none of us knew how we could pull her out of it.
"How are you feeling today?"
As she sat up in bed, I took in her appearance with the faintest light coming through the cracks of the tape. Her hair was tangled and dirty, her eyes were blood shot and rimmed with dark circles, her face very gaunt and pale. In addition to not leaving her room, she had barely been eating, this was depression in its prime.
"I'm miserable, Lori. My life is a mess, I'm a mess. My phone is totally busted. When I ran after that guy Shawn, I accidentally threw my headphones at Gareth and the phone fell off and onto the treadmill ramp before it slammed against the wall. Now the screen is all busted, it's barely working and my laptop is practically falling apart. There's a crack on the side and the bottom is falling out, I'm lucky if it stays on for twenty minutes without abruptly shutting off. Even my electronics want nothing to do with me, and I'm still paying off my credit cards so I can't replace anything. Maybe my dad is right and I should just spend the rest of my life in an institution."
I shook my head in protest, my heart broke for her. "Sweetie, that's not true and we both know that. I know you want to be with Gareth, you saw the look in his eyes. He's crazy about you, just call him."
"I can't. It would be selfish of me to burden his life with all my problems, I already have. It's because I love Gareth that I can't be with him. He needs to be with somebody who has their life together, for the sake of him and Autumn Montana. How could he still love me when he heard me confess all those feelings to who I thought was Aiden? I clearly haven't gotten over him like I thought."
"Melody, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself for not being able to "get over it". Aiden died in a very tragic way, it's traumatizing to all of us."
I had to hold my tears back, knowing the truth of what happened to Aiden and that Melody only knew what was a lie. No matter how hard it was to contain, it had to be done, she could never know the truth, especially not in the fragile state she's in.
"Now, you've been holed up in here for almost a week. Carl and I are going to the doctor's office for my check up, why don't you come with us? We can go to the mall afterwards and pick out rhinestones for the competition costumes while Carl fries his brains at Game Stop."
For the past thirteen years, I've been a freelance choreographer and dance teacher, mostly working with my alma mater, Hilltop Colony Dance. I had been accepted into the American Ballet Company but gave it up when I was pregnant with Carl. Sometimes I miss it, but I have no regrets.
After years of begging, Melody finally agreed to assist me in choreographing routines for Hilltop's competition team. The thirty or so routines that we've done together in two years have placed in the top ten, with sixteen in the top five, ten in the top three, and seven winning first overall. We were working on a musical theatre/jazz routine for In10sity Dance in January, which was almost completed and surely will be a big winner.
"Mom, I'm ready."
We looked over to see Carl in the doorway.
"Hi, hun. I'll be down in a moment."
"Alright. Hey, Aunt Melody, Patrick drew this for you." Carl walked to her bed, handing her an elaborately drawn picture of Tinker Bell. Patrick was an exceptional artist, I could definitely see him making a career out of it, he just needed to break away from his shyness. I also knew he had a little crush on Melody.
Melody smiled. "That's really sweet, tell him I said thank you."
"I will. Are you coming out with us?"
She shook her head. "No, I can't. I can't even get ready, there's no way I'll be able to go out. Lori, just get samples of the rhinestones and we'll look over them when I feel better. We've got plenty of time, In10sity isn't even for two more months."
"Melondrop, you can't stay in your room forever, you're stronger than this." All I wanted was to have her see that, even if I had to force her.
"Alright, this is getting to be too much. Thanks for checking up on me, but I am in no position to do anything right now. Maybe I'll come out of my room tonight, I don't know."
She flopped down and threw the blankets over her head, acting out her typical stubbornness, but I knew there was nothing more I could say, I'd have to try again later.
"Fine, you heard her. Come on, Carl. Let's go. I'll check up on you later, Melody." I stood up, wiping my tears away as I walked out of the room. It worried me greatly not knowing when she would pull out of this, but she had before and I had faith that she could do it again.
I turned around to see Carl giving her covered body a hug. "Aunt Melody, I miss you, we all miss your happy self. Just know that we're waiting for you, whenever you're ready. Smiles go a much longer way than tears."
As he got up and walked out, I couldn't have been any prouder of my son. His words were sweet but precise and mature. Hopefully, they would get through to Melody.
MELODY
Once I knew that Lori and Carl were gone, I popped out from under the covers. Truth be told, I did want to go to the mall, but was still feeling too depressed. All I did was sleep and cry, I had even missed the Big Hero 6 premiere and Election Day. I heard my father won a second time, beating his running mate, attorney general Deanna Monroe, who was also a good family friend.
I kept replaying my conversation with Gareth over and over in my head, knowing he was right but still holding back. I knew he had been crying and it crushed me that I had pushed him to that extent. How long was I going to keep torturing myself like this, the rest of my life?
Out of boredom and in search of hope, I grabbed my laptop, praying it wouldn't abruptly crash as I searched for "Let It Go" on YouTube.
I took a moment to listen to the words while watching the video of Elsa embracing her newfound freedom. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I was Elsa, hiding from the rest of the world due to fear and paranoia, no matter what those around me tried to do, and only feeling free when alone. Lori was Anna, stopping at nothing to bring me back, even though I shut her out.
I spent so much time being angry and jealous, envying my sister for feeling like she had everything handed to her, like she never had a bad moment in her life, but then I remembered that she gave up her dreams for Carl and Rick. I was deserving of the love and happiness I wanted, that I craved, why had it taken so long to actually believe it? There were so many people all around that genuinely cared about me and my well being, and what did I do? I shut them out, and by doing that, I was hurting the people I loved the most. My mom, Lori, Rick, Carl, Beth, Maggie, Tara, Stefon, Gareth. Especially Gareth. My heart broke at how I pushed him away, because now I knew that he loved me as much as I loved him.
As much as I hated to admit this, Gareth had a point. If Aiden liked me too, he would have been with me regardless of what Nicholas and the others thought, or at least tried harder. Here was Gareth, defending me to Shane and Theresa, the mother of his child. Somebody wouldn't do that unless they cared a great deal for that person.
Perhaps since Aiden and I never got together that fate spared me further pain, because if we had, I would have been more of a mess than I am right now. I can only imagine what Kendall was going through, and they weren't even together anymore. Maybe Aiden was my guardian angel and he sent me Gareth so I wouldn't be alone, so I'd know real love. True love. Aiden and Kendall had been each other's first loves. While Randall was my first serious relationship, Gareth was my first love, and I wanted him to be my only love.
"I'm never going back
The past is in the past!"
I stared laughing as I cried, watching Elsa transform herself into The Snow Queen. Everything I wanted- somebody to love me, an actual social life, to be beautiful- I had gotten it. I had it all along, and I wasn't appreciative as I should have been. It really was time to "let it go" and not hold back anymore, to embrace the girl I am. She may not be the girl I want to be, but she's getting there and she's already one in a million.
Life really is too short, and it could be taken away from us unexpectedly. I didn't want to be barricaded any longer, I was going to live. Laugh as much as I can, smile wider, and love with everything I had. Closing my laptop, I jumped out of my bed and grabbed a pair of UGGS, knowing exactly what I had to do.
LORI
"Mom, do you think Melody and Gareth will ever get back together?" Carl asked as he buckled his seatbelt.
I heavily sighed, buckling my own seatbelt as I pushed the garage door button. "I do, but I'm not sure when, Carl. She's in a lot of pain right now, it may take some time. I just hope it's not too late."
As I was half way out the garage, I heard somebody shouting, which made me slam on the brakes.
"WAIT! Don't leave without me!"
I looked up to see Melody running towards the car, almost tripping over her pajama bottoms, gesturing me to roll down my window.
"Melody, what is it? Is everything alright?"
"Can you give me a ride to Woodbury, please? I gotta talk to Gareth, I gotta tell him he's the one for me!"
A huge smile spread across my face to match my sister's, both of us laughing, I was so happy I could cry. I don't know what had happened, but I knew now it was only going to get better for her from here on in.
"Of course, I can! Carl, get in the back seat."
"You got it." He smiled, climbing into the backseat as Melody got in next to me. Once we were all in, I pulled out of the driveway, my smile never leaving.
Woodbury, Encino, 3:55 pm
GARETH
Today was the big Mikimoto presentation, and it was the furthest thing from my mind. Ever since Saturday, I had been completely miserable about how things ended with Melody. I followed Rick's advice, but I wanted to make sure she was ok. The problem was that she wouldn't return my phone calls or texts, private messages on social media, and when I stopped by she was sleeping. Would she ever come around?
A knock on my door interrupted me from my thoughts as I read over my presentation one more time.
"Come in."
I looked up and was surprised when a familiar blonde walked through the door.
"Beth?"
"Hi, Gareth." She smiled warmly at me, closing the door and walking inside. "I came to see how you're doing. Even though you and Melody are kind of on the outs at the moment, you're my friend now, too, and Noah's."
I smiled the best I could, truly touched by her kindness. "Thank you, I appreciate that, and I consider you my friend, also. I'm alright."
Beth cocked her head to the side with a raised eyebrow. "Really? You sure don't look it. Come on, Gareth. You don't need to hide your feelings."
"Alright, fine, you've got me. I'm dismal, Beth. I poured my heart out and she shoved me away. I'm trying to give her time, but what if she never comes around? It's been days since we've spoken. Have you talked to her? How is she?"
She nodded. "Yeah, Lori called me over two days ago. Melody's phone is broken and her laptop isn't working very well, so that's why you haven't heard from her. I know this probably isn't my place to say, but as her best friend, I thought you should know. Melody is really depressed; she hasn't left her room or even her bed. She loves you, Gareth, a lot, she told me when we were getting ready for the party."
"She did?" I felt my spirits lift slightly, even though this was before the incident with that Shawn kid, who knew how Melody was feeling now?
"Yes, she did, but she's scared that if she moves forward that her feelings for Aiden wouldn't have mattered. I know about what happened at the gym, it set her back, except she came out of her depression once already, I believe she can do it again, and it was because of you."
Beth looked at me with such sadness and a glimmer of hope. "I guess the other reason I came here today is to ask you not to give up on Melody. I've watched the two of you together, the kind of love you have is so real and selfless, you'd do anything for her. She just needs to realize that, too. Whenever you're around, Melody has this radiant glow that lights up the world, she never had that with Randall or Ben, so I know that you really mean something to her, Gareth."
Beth was a true friend to anybody that needed it, but especially to Melody, they were more like sisters. Her words made me want to believe that things would turn around.
"I know, you're right, Beth. I would do anything for Melody, without any hesitations, because I love her. There aren't enough words or ways to express how much I love her, but I do. You have my word that I won't give up. Actually, I was planning on paying her a visit after I got off work. The Big Bang Theory is on tonight, I know she wouldn't miss watching it with Rick, Lori, and Carl for anything."
She smiled. "Yeah, that sounds great. You're a really wonderful person, Gareth. Yes, you've made some mistakes, but you're genuine all in all."
"Thanks, as are you, Beth. Melody is lucky to have such a fantastic best friend." I returned the smile as I gave her a friendly hug.
A knock at the door interrupted us; we looked over to see Rick walk in.
"Hey, Gareth. Oh, hi, Beth."
"Hi, Rick." Beth smiled as she stepped out of my embrace. "How are you doing?"
"I'm good, you?"
"Good."
Rick looked over at me. "Gareth, Yumiko Kōkichi is on her way up for the meeting."
"Alright, I'm ready." I turned to Beth. "I gotta go, but thanks for stopping by."
"Of course. I'll talk to you later, don't forget what I said." Beth leaned up and gave me a peck on the cheek before walking out. "Good luck. Bye, guys."
"Bye."
"Bye, Beth."
Rick glanced back at me, but before he could say anything, I cut him off.
"I'm ready. Come on, let's show them what we're made of."
MELODY
"Thanks so much for the ride. Sorry you had to cancel your appointment."
Lori shook her head as she parked by the elevators. "No, it's fine. This was more important, I rescheduled for tomorrow. Melody, are you sure you don't want to get yourself together before going up there?"
"I probably should, but I can't wait a second longer to tell him. I love him, Lori, that's my guy up there and he needs to know I'm not going to push him away any longer."
She smiled and gave me a hug. "If that's the case, then go get 'em, tigress." Lori kissed me on the cheek as I smiled back before getting out of the car.
"Thank you."
"Good luck, Aunt Melody." Carl said from the backseat as I took off towards the elevators. Riding up to the third floor, I felt all jittery, but also excited. I hoped Gareth would forgive me; I couldn't wait to see him.
As soon as the doors opened, a familiar blonde appeared on the other side.
"Melody?"
"Beth? What are you doing here?"
She started rubbing her cuticles, which had always been a nervous habit of hers. "Uh, I came to see Gareth to check up on him. He's my friend now, too, and I wanted to let him know how you were doing, also. Are you alright, girl? You look like the walking dead."
I nodded, taken aback that she had come here. "Yes, I'm fine. You know, I should be kind of annoyed that you came here, but I'm not. I'm actually glad."
"It was done out of pure selflessness. So, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to get my man back, and I can't waste a moment longer." I wrapped her up in a huge hug. "I'll call you later, love you!" I giggled as I ran off.
"Love you, too! He's not in his office, they went down to The Brain Lab to give a presentation."
"Thanks!" I shouted over my shoulder, knowing exactly where to go. My heart began pounding loudly and the smile on my face could no longer be contained, and I felt more confident than I ever had. As I got to The Brain Lab, my pants got in the way because I was running too fast. Before I could catch myself, I had tripped over my pants and crashed into the door, opening it and diving down face first into The Brain Lab.
"Wh-Whoa!"
I picked myself up in humiliation after a few seconds, and I noticed my nose was a bleeding, throbbing mess.
"Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!" I kept going, between clenched teeth as I held on to my nose, just like on Family Guy, but I kind of couldn't help it.
"Melody? Is that you?"
I looked to see Gareth standing at the head of the table, along with Rick, Shane, Martin, and a bunch of Japanese executives dressed in sharp black suits. They all looked puzzled at my entrance, which was when I realized I looked like shit. I had no make up on, I was wearing my pajamas without a bra, my hair was a mess, and now my nose was bleeding. Even though I was embarrassed, I couldn't just leave now, so I rose to my feet.
"Hi, Gareth." I looked over at the Japanese executives and waved. "Oh, konichiwa!"
"Melody, what are you doing here?"
I started getting the giggles again as I held onto my nose, trying to take a deep breath. "Wow, I am so glad I did not wear white today. Alright, so I'm going to go to the hospital, because I'm pretty sure my nose is broken, but I just wanted to say I'm sorry." I took my hand off my face, unaware that the translator had been translating the entire conversation and not caring about my nose bleeding.
"I came here because I'm sorry, for everything I said. It killed me that night, telling you to forget that you met me, because really, that's the last thing I would ever want. I love you, Gareth, truly love you. Everything you said was right, I'm finally going to let it go. My dreams with Aiden, they died before they were even born, but maybe all along, you're the one I was meant for, and I believe that now more than ever. You're the King to my Lionheart."
I smiled over at him, even though he, along with everybody else in the room, appeared to be dumbfounded. The weight had been lifted off of me, I finally bared my soul and opened my heart, the curse was broken, and I am reborn. Now, it was my time to go.
"I'm going to go, I don't want to make a further spectacle of myself. Come over after work, ok? I love you, good luck." I walked out of there, but popped my head out from the door, waving. "Oh, hi, Rick!"
"Uh, hi." He waved awkwardly at me, still looking confused.
"See you at home, k? Bye!" As I walked out of The Brain Lab, I felt really proud of myself for having the courage to make such a display. Sure, it may have been a little over the top, but that's just me.
GARETH
I was completely knocked for six at what Melody had just done. She had barged in on a very important meeting, injuring herself in the process, to declare her love for me. At the same time, I was incredibly touched and overjoyed. She loved me, she truly loves me, and she was mine. All I wanted was-
"Mandel-san?"
"Hmm?" I looked over at Yumiko's translator Mamoru. "Yes?"
"Yumiko-chan wants to know if that girl was wearing one of our black pearls."
"Oh." I nodded. "Yes, yes she is. I bought it for her in Tokyo."
As Mamoru translated back to Yumiko, she smiled over at me once he was finished before he translated what she had just said.
"I see. That girl loves you, and she wears your love with the pearl. You are obviously very passionate with everything you do, which is exactly what we have been looking for."
I stammered as I started laughing. Melody's little mishap had just landed us the Mikimoto account we had been working our asses off on. "Wow, thanks so much."
"Gareth."
I glanced over at Rick. "Yes, Rick?"
He nodded his head to the side. "Go after her."
"What, are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I've got it covered. Go get her."
My smiled widened, he had just done me a huge solid. "Thanks, Rick. I owe you one."
I ran out of the room and to the stairs, the elevator was going to take too long. Once I got to the parking lot, I saw Melody walking towards Lori's Mercedes-Benz.
"Melody! Wait!"
I started running towards her, not caring about whatever was going on around me or upstairs or outside, the only thing I cared about was her.
When she turned around, I wasted no time in sweeping her up in my arms and kissing her with everything I had. Her legs wrapped around my waist and her arms around my neck, I felt something wet on my face. When we pulled away, I saw that she was crying, but what I didn't realize was that I was crying as well.
"You've got blood on your face now, and I look like crap."
I shook my head. "That's ok, I don't care. You've never looked more beautiful than you do right now. You really just did that for me, didn't you?" She nodded. "Why?"
"People do crazy things when they're in love, Wonderboy." Melody giggled, we both know she was quoting Hercules. "I'm sorry I pushed you away, I never want to hurt you like that again. Without you, I'm empty and lugubrious. We can have everything we want, and we can have it together. I don't want to waste anymore time crying, I wanna live and I wanna do it now. I want you, you're the king and I'm a lionheart."
"My lionheart."
I pushed her hair back before I kissed her again, never wanting to let go and feeling elated of where we were right now. Melody and I were together, she was my girl, and we were so completely, out of our minds in love with each other. We no longer had to hide or hold back, we could shout it out loud for the world to hear and cheer over. No matter what, I was never, ever going to let her go. I lost her once, and I'd rather die than lose her again.
The Grimes' House, 8:15 pm
"Sheldon is such an asshole, but he is hilarious."
"Yeah, I don't know if I'd hang out with him."
Melody looked up from her spot on the couch, snuggled up in my arms. "You hang out with Martin the Moron, so I'm sure you and Sheldon would be besties." She stuck her tongue out, making me smirk.
"Martin isn't too bad of a guy once you get to know him, but he's just a moron when he wants to be."
"You can say that again." Melody leaned over and kissed me.
After wrapping up with Mikimoto, I went home and changed, then headed to Rick's to watch The Big Bang Theory with Melody and the others. When I arrived, Melody was washed and dressed, she looked like a brand new girl, not to mention she was eating for the first time in days. Things really were looking up for us.
"If Sheldon was real, I'd have him do my homework all the time." Carl said as he munched on some popcorn.
"Yeah, I want to say that I could use twenty of him at Woodbury, but Gareth is all I need." Rick added, giving me a high five. "You killed it today, man."
"Ha, don't thank me. It was Melody's stamina that brought it home." I squeezed her shoulder in triumph as she smiled.
"Like I said, people do crazy things when they're in love."
"Melody." Lori walked in, holding the landline. "Your father is on the phone."
I watched Melody's face go white as she began shaking her head. "No, no, no. I'm not here. Tell him I went out or moved to Siberia or joined the Peace Corps or-"
Lori shook her head, pushing the phone in her lap. "No, Melody. He knows you're here. Just talk to him, he says it's important."
"Fine." Melody heavily sighed as she took the phone, her whole body tensed up. "Hi, Daddy. Congratulations on winning again. (Pause) Well, uh, I would have called, but my phone is broken. (Pause) Really? You are? Wow, thanks. (Pause) That, too? Finally! Thank you so much, that means a lot. (Pause) Oh, Donna told you that? Well, it's true, I am seeing somebody serious." She elbowed me and smiled. "You do, huh? For my birthday? Ok, that can definitely be arranged, sir. Right, will do. Alrighty, take care Governator. Bye now."
Once Melody hung up the phone, she let out an exasperated groan. "I hate taking his calls. Even if they're good calls, I'm always on edge. Once again, he forgot to say "I love you"." She looked up at me. "Do you ever do that to Autumn Montana?"
I shook my head. "Nope, not at all. If anything, I tell her too much."
"You could never tell your daughter that you love her too much."
"What did he want?" Lori asked.
"Apparently, he's switching phone carrier services, so we're all getting new phones. His driver will be picking my old one up and then dropping off my new one after it's finished syncing. He's also following through with that thing I told you about."
"Wow, really?" Rick asked, to which Melody nodded.
"Yep, I can't believe it either. Apparently, Donna told Allen and my dad about Gareth, now he and Lily want to take us out to dinner." She turned to me, a semi-worried expression on her face. "Do you think you'd be up for that in a few weeks?"
I nodded. "Of course, babe. You don't have to ask me twice." In all honesty, I was kind of looking forward to meeting Phillip and trying to help him and Melody get their relationship back to a good place. I knew that meant a lot to her, and it also meant she'd be able to see her sisters more, so I was going to do what I could.
"Does this mean you guys are back together?" Carl asked, making the room go silent.
"Yes, are you? It sure looks like it." Lori added.
I glanced over at Melody. "Do you want to tell them or should I?"
"I'll do it, especially now that the second part is secure, I can move forward. There are a couple things I need to do tomorrow, and then we'll be back together. This time, Facebook official." She looked at me and smirked.
We had discussed this when I first came over, and I was more than happy to help her if it meant us finally being together once and for all. I just hoped that this wouldn't backfire terribly, but I feel it's important in order for her to let it go.
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Stubborn Love- A Modern/AU Walking Dead Story