They're Chips Not Fries (Carl and Roisin)

Roisin had decided that she was going to appear in the little canteen area a little bit ahead of the time that dinner was going to be served. Happily she had showered once Carol had showed her how to use it and now was nice and clean with a freshly washed head of hair...it felt great to just be so clean!

She looked so much better too, her hair was now lovely and soft, and her complexion was better when it wasn't covered in mud and strained from not having any sleep. The nap that she had for a few hours was amazing and the best sleep she had in days, weeks, months even!

Now she was standing in the middle of the cafeteria and feeling a little bit lost because honestly she didn't know anyone and they were all kind of staring at her like she was some sort of gangly non-entity. Especially the other girls in the group. Roisin had worn her best outfit for dinner, and although it might have been a little bit odd, she loved it and was glad she had saved it.

It was one of her Irish dancing dresses, it was long sleeved, made of warm thick material, a dark navy blue colour and it came down to her mid knee length. It was perfect for the summer because of its short length and also the winter where she could wear jeans with it. Maybe they didn't like the art deco flowers on it? Pouting a little bit Roisin wandered shyly over to where the cooking was occurring.

"It smells nice." she stated shyly, hoping that someone at least would talk to her.

Carl had been told that his dad had brought in another survivor and had, at first, been slightly annoyed as it meant a greater strain on the group. But after a chat with his father about the circumstances he felt ashamed of his annoyance and proud that his dad had done that for someone he had never even met before.

His dad had also let slip that the survivor was a girl his own age.

That had caught the attention of Carl and not least because his hormones were just beginning to wake up and start working on his brain. It would be nice to have some other children around here since the younger ones were all too immature for him and his only real friend was actually slightly older than himself.

Spotting Roisin (she was the only new person and the only pretty girl in a dress) stood by the serving area for the food, he grinned a little bit and adjusted his hat (much to the amusement of Daryl and Hershel on another table) before moving over to her,

"Yeah it smells nice." he agreed with a grin as he stood next to her, "But the fries taste even better than they look... especially with some of the ketchup we managed to get from the kitchens here!"

Grinning (in the best imitation of his father's grin he could manage), Carl nodded to her as they were both given a bowl full of extra thin fries,

"You must be Roisin... by dad told me to look for the pretty Irish girl and I'd find you."

Roisin was a little bit startled when she heard someone speaking right beside her but she was just glad that she was able to have someone to talk to. It was a little bit daunting now that she was new and the other girls didn't seem to really want to have anything to do with her, besides, they were a little bit younger than her anyway, maybe they were scared of her?

She hoped not.

"Tey aren't fries, tey're chips!" she giggled softly "I can't tell ye how happy I am to have somet'ing warm to eat, or something to eat at all...but with ketchup these chips sound like they are going to be te best t'ing I've had for ages."

The boy that was standing next to her was kind of cute, especially when he was wearing that hat that was a little bit too big for him. Roisin smiled brightly when she figured out that this must be Carl, Rick's son and that made sense considering they looked a little alike especially when they grinned like that. It was like he was a mini me.

"Yeah that's right, I'm Roisin, nice to meet you Carl." she grinned, holding out her hand for him to shake, then taking the fries and looking at them, smelling the aroma for a few moments just to savour them for a while longer "You're dad told me that you would be coming to find me, it's nice to have someone talk to me I'm kind of just being stared at." she whispered softly, a little blush on her cheeks.

Carl had to admit that he had never heard the Irish accent from anyone who wasn't in either a movie or on the TV and it wasn't a bad accent at all. He rather liked how it sounded to be honest and he smiled at it. It added a certain amount of exotic wonder to her that was missing from any of the other girls around here and, in fact, different from any of the other people here full stop; adults included.

But she was dead wrong about the fries!

"Oh no they aren't... they're way too thin to be what you guys call chips!" he teased her with a grin before nodding in agreement, "Well it's all thanks to you we're getting them tonight you know. Dad says we should only have them on special occasions and he thought that bringing you into the group was special enough for chips... and cake."

Yes they had cake! God be praised for cake!

He shifted a little bit nervously when she observed him and he really hoped that he would pass her little inspection. Smirking a little bit, he shook her hand without a second's hesitation. He was liking her already that was for damn sure,

"Well my dad was making such a fuss about the 'awesome ninja girl' that I just had to meet you." he told her with a grin before sitting down at a free table with Roisin, "Yeah don't worry about it, they're just a bit nervous. New people are scary outside the walls and I guess old habits die hard and all that. So what you doing in America? Exchange trip?"

Roisin was glad of the friendly banter that she was having, it had been so long since she had talked to anyone but her parents and she was just thankful that she was getting along with Carl already. The fact that he was cute helped, she liked his long shaggy hairstyle, it suited him a lot she had to admit, it might be nice to see him without the large hat on however.

"Well gee..." she murmured softly pressing the tips of her fingers together "I don't want to be a bother and waste up all the chips and stuff...it's great that I get to have some but, I just hope that everyone is okay with it."

The mention of cake made she smile shyly; "Although I can't believe you guys have cake, I would love to have some, it's so awesome here I didn't think I would ever have chips again you know, and here I am, having some!" Roisin laughed softly, picking one up and dipping it in the very frugal amount of sauce she had allocated herself.

Giggling a little bit Roisin shook her head;

"I didn't do anything, you're dad was the real ninja!" she grinned "W-well...I was here with my family, we were going on vacation and only stopped in Georgia for a connecting flight, then it got cancelled and the rest of the planes too so we got stuck here." Roisin explained, nibbling her lip "I'm just glad that everyone back home is okay, so when things get fixed here, then I can go back." she smiled brightly.

He chuckled a little bit when she did a cute little gesture and said that she wouldn't want to waste all the fries. Well that was honestly unlikely to ever happen since they had literally sacks of the things in some of the freezers. How were the freezers still working? Well they weren't but they had been so secure and so badly cleaned that the ice on the walls was up to eight inches deep in places and the door was so tight that not a single bit of the cold left it,

"Don't worry, we have some potatoes planted so that we can make our own fries from our own potatoes before long." he told her with a grin before shaking his head a little bit, "It's no bother so don't even worry about it."

He grinned a little bit,

"That's what everyone says." he admitted, "But Carol makes them fresh herself. We got a cow out the back of the prison so that's where we get the milk and we have a few chickens for eggs too. The mixture we just grab from stores when we go out."

Taking some of the ketchup, Carl poured himself a generous amount before playfully adding another squirt to Roisin's plate with a little grin. He smirked happily when she complimented his father and called him a ninja instead,

"Yeah dad can be pretty awesome sometimes... that's why I'm gunna be the leader of the group like he is, when I'm older." he told her with a grin before nodding in agreement, "Sounds like a crappy holiday now... but I'm glad that Ireland is still free from Walkers. Think we could all move over there if we need to? What's it like there?"

Roisin felt a little less guilty about eating up all of the supplies that the group had, all the yummy ones anyway when Carl said that they had some potatoes of their own growing. She hoped that they would be able to get some fresh vegetables in her soon, she was in sore need of them! All she wanted to do was eat these fries then go back to sleep for a week or more!

"I hope that I can help out around here, I was looking at the horses that you guys have and thinking maybe I could help take care of them, I took lessons back at home you know." she smiled brightly "I know how to look after them properly."

When Carl said that Carol made the cakes herself she was even more excited to try one so that she could compliment Carol when she next saw her. Carol seemed to like her and she was glad of that fact because she liked her too!

"Carol is a lovely lady, she told me how to work the showers before, I'll be happy to try some of her cakes, just so I can tell her how great they are afterwards." she grinned brightly.

Gasping when Carl added some more sauce to her plate, Roisin blushed gently and picked up a chip, eating it very slowly with little nibbles, licking a little drop of ketchup off her finger as she did so, she didn't want to waste any!

"You two are a lot alike, I know you'll do a great job!" Roisin smiled brightly "Well uhm...I don't know if its free or not but my Mammy told me it was so, I think it might be. This thing can't cross water right?" she laughed nervously before smiling at the memory of her town "It rains almost every day, so there's no problem with water, its cold most of the time, but it has lots of good ground for potatoes and vegetables. I like it here though, its so warm, it's lovely."

Carl had to admit that it was refreshing to find another child who actually wanted to help out around the Prison. No one else had ever wanted to do anything and all they'd done was act like the children they were before all this. But they weren't allowed to be kids anymore. They had to be little adults if anything because right now that's what the world demanded that they be in order for them to survive in any way.

"Well we always need help with the planting and the animals... me and my dad I mean. We've got Hershel but he's mainly for advice and vet stuff since he can't kneel down to plant anymore." he admitted before grinning a little bit, "We use them when one person needs to go on a run so it'd be great if you could help them exercise a bit or something like that."

Carl nodded in agreement. He liked Carol although his image of her had taken a bit of a dive back at Hershel's when she seemed to be one of the first people in the group to give up on finding Sophia and she just went ahead and moved on,

"Yeah she's nice." he agreed before chuckling a little bit, "Her cakes are amazing though... it's a chocolate cake today I think."

Seeing her blushing at the way he added more sauce to her plate, he grinned a little bit and give her a cheeky little wink. Hearing her say that he was a lot like his father made him grin but the comment about him doing a great job actually made him blush a little bit. No one else seemed to think that was the case to be honest,

"Thanks Roisin, I'll try to prove you right." he told her with a grin before chuckling slightly and nodding, "I think it'll be safe too... and it sounds like a place that'd be good for our farming but not so much for other things. We don't need heating around here after all."

Roisin couldn't help but think that Carl was really cute, especially in the way that he kept saying that she could do things when really he had to ask his dad first, but she wasn't going to point that out. Why be mean after all? He seemed to really like being someone who could help her out so why would she refuse and put down his nice helpful attitude. It was making her feel a lot better.

"I would love to help exercise the horses." she grinned "It's been a while since I've been able to ride one, we tried to capture one so we wouldn't have to walk everywhere but we weren't fast enough."

Eating another chip, this time a little faster because she didn't want them to cool Roisin smiled softly and asked; "So what do you like to do Carl? What is there to do around here, apart from sit here and eat awesome food."

The cheeky little wink that Carl gave her made Roisin blush even more and she turned her attention to her plate, why would she want him to see that she was blushing? That just made her seem like such a loser right? When she had thought enough time had passed for her face to calm down, Roisin nibbled her lip;

"I don't think I'm every gunna get to go back home." she sighed softly "But that's okay, because I have a new home, and I know it's going to be safe for a long time with your dad and you in charge. Maybe I can help more too when I'm older, I could be like...your advisor." Roisin suggested with a little giggle.

Carl knew that she was liking the way he was giving her permission to do things but he also knew that any of the decisions he was reaching here would be backed up by his dad since most of what he was telling her were things already established. He grinned a little bit at the thought of her trying to catch a horse when she was on foot,

"Yeah I'd imagine they'd be a bit too quick to catch on foot." he teased her a little bit before gesturing over at the makeshift stables, "We found most of these animals in a petting zoo... they were all pretty weak but we nursed them back to health and they seem to be liking it here."

Chuckling a little bit, Carl had another fry as he thought about how best to answer that question while still being cool,

"Oh you know... I read comics and books to pass time. I help my dad and Hershel with the plants and the animals and Daryl's been teaching me a little bit of woodcraft to help out too." he admitted with a little grin, "Better than just listening to Carol at storytime right?"

She was blushing? That was something that made Carl blush a little bit too but also boosted his confidence and inflated his ego ever so slightly too,

"You have this new home for as long as you like I'm sure." he told her with a grin, "Yeah you could even join the council! Dad set it up to let the other people in the group have some kind of say about the direction of the group as a whole."

Roisin blushed brightly when Carl said that he was sure they were too quick to catch on foot, to be honest she knew he was right but it had been a little bit of a last ditch attempt at trying to get a ride that wouldn't run out of gas a few miles down the road, or break down from not running for so long. It was nice though that he was being so gracious about it instead of just calling her an idiot or something like others would.

"That was a really great idea, after all we need animals in order to produce things that are more advanced. When they're older we can use them for food too, and use their hides to make stuff!" Roisin stated "You guys really did think this all through didn't you? It's great you had the ability to do all of this."

Hearing that Carl liked to read books and comic books to pass the time, Roisin nodded her head and smiled softly;

"I like to read books too, you know, I read one called the Fear, its an English book you mightn't have heard of it, but it's pretty ironic. I always thought I would do kind of well if something like what happened in it, happened, but, I guess I haven't done so good." she stated, rubbing the back of her head "I have never been to story time, but I've been invited...should I not go?"

The idea that Rick had made, of the council, made Roisin blink a little bit, it sounded like they really had their own community set up here, it was like a mini government sort of thing. Finishing the chips in her bowl, Roisin patted her stomach.

"Ah that was amazing. I haven't had that much to eat for ages, it's working a treat."

Carl had to say that it was nice to see a newcomer who saw not only how good it was here but also how much thought had gone into it all. The thought and the planning and all the hard work that meant that they were now able to accept more survivors into their Prison. It was probably the only reason why Rick had actually been able to offer Roisin sanctuary,

"Yeah it has worked out well for us so far but it's taken us quite a while to get to this point don't get me wrong." he admitted with a little sigh, "We spent so long just wandering around and then even when we got the prison we were just living off the supplies in the stores... we needed something to make everything a lot more independent."

Before he could reply about the book he groaned when he saw a giggling Carol and a smirking Daryl coming on over to their table,

"Be ready for some blushing from me..." he muttered to Roisin in a mock-defeated voice, "They're rather mean to me..."

Daryl snorted,

"Yea' righ', tis lil' squir' is jus' a pai' in the ass." he joked a little bit before nodding to her with an amused smile, "Yer alrigh' ter darlin'? Carl don' anythin' te mak' an ass out'a himsel' ye'?"

Carol giggled a little bit and present a slice of chocolate cake to Roisin with a small grin,

"Here you are dear... Rick was telling us that you were without any good food for a long time." She told her as she patted Roisin on the back gently before giggling, "Of course along with good food he's also given you Carl to deal with."

Carl groaned playfully and blushed as he just rested his head against the tabletop, face first.

Roisin was enjoying the conversation with Carl about what it took to make the prison, but she liked hearing more about his backstory, what made him the way he was today, who he had lost. Everyone now had lost someone, there wasn't a family alive in America that was still whole, many had no members left at all.

At least Carl still had his father, and the family he had made here with the other people at the prison, and the group he had travelled with beforehand.

"Don't worry," she whispered softly "I'll stick up for you." Roisin grinned as she saw Carol and another man that she didn't really know coming towards their table, it was obvious that Carl knew both of them though so, it meant he was cool with her.

"Yes thank you, I'm fine, better than fine actually dinner was lovely." she smiled brightly "Carl's been great, he's told me a lot of things I can do to help your guys out and I look forwards to doing them all!" Roisin stated with a happy smile on her lips.

When Carol handed Roisin the cake, she blushed softly and took it, looking at the cake she couldn't help but want to tuck in immediately and devour it, but she did want to savour it. Cake seemed to be a treat, so she wouldn't rush it.

"I was...yes." she admitted with a little glance to the side, her expression fell for a few seconds before returning to normal "I think its more like he's given me to Carl to look after." Roisin grinned happily "Thank you for the cake Carol, I'll make sure to enjoy it. It looks great."

Tilting her head to one side, Roisin asked politely;

"Excuse me for intruding but, are you two a couple?" she asked

Carl chuckled a little bit when she said that she would stick up for him but there was no mocking tone to the sound. He did actually believe she would do her best to stick up for him. And that meant a lot to him considering they had known each other for the grand total of about half an hour so far. He grinned a little bit to show her just how much it had meant to her and how much he had actually appreciated it,

"Thanks but I don't think they'll be that bad." he admitted with a nervous little chuckle, "I just hope they don't go too far and reveal certain... embarrassing things..."

Daryl nodded in agreement when she commented on the dinner,

"Yea' well tha' was all in ord'r fer yer girli'. So than's fer showin' up, yer go' Ric' te agree te open up te goo' stuff." he told her with a teasing wink before grinning slightly, "Well ten I guess Carl ain' bee' so muc'a pai' in te ass! Yer'll ge' a chanc' te do pretty muc' all of te duties you hav' aroun' here, to giv' yer som' idea on how te help."

Carol smiled happily when Roisin accepted the cake because some people she had made cakes for had ended up hating them just because they didn't believe cakes could be made again after the fall of the civilized world,

"Well don't worry your little head alright? From now on we're going to look after you." she told her in a quietly encouraging way, "Well either way you kids look out for each other alright Roisin? You'll find he's tough to collar... he never stays in the house."

Carl groaned as both Carol and Daryl laughed. Upon hearing the question, the two adults looked at each other before Carol answered,

"We're not sure. Definitely not in a traditional sense at any rate."