"Finally back on our side, Hero?" Sydney grinned at me.
"Oh, Sydney, you're alive," I muttered. The words came out rougher than I'd intended, betraying just how worried I'd actually been about their her fate.
"Of course I am," Sydney scoffed. "My dying day has already been chosen, and it's not today, and certainly not by the hands of some brain-dead walking corpses."
I couldn't help but smile. "Somehow I missed your very weird sense of humor and ridiculously high opinion of yourself," I replied, feeling some of the tension finally leaving my shoulders.
Sydney smirked. "I missed you too, Ryan."
Before I could process what was happening, she suddenly grasped the front of my shirt with both hands, pulling me closer. The intensity in her eyes caught me completely off guard.
"W-Wait," I stammered, my cheeks immediately flushing red as I watched her eyes flutter closed and her face move closer to mine.