Life is a bitch, Glenn thought as he watched the almighty Rick pace back and forth from the room Carl was in to the living room and back. The man was a mess, in more ways than one. It was completely understandable, his son was shot. The boy he loved, who gave him so much hope, was shot and could die. Plus the usual always-on-the-run-can-we-ever-be-safe thoughts that always linger on his and everyone else's minds.
The blood that came from Carl's wound had stained his old sheriff outfit. There was gauze wrapped tightly around his arm due to the transfusions he had to give. The Korean wondered why Rick still wore that sheriff outfit. No one cared whether or not he was a sheriff; he didn't need to wear a uniform to be in charge.
But anyway, life was shittier than usual. Sophia was missing, anyone could hear that Carol was still crying at night, the personal issues within the group that are slowly but surely tearing everyone apart, and to be the cherry on this shit sundae, Carl was shot.
Glenn continued to watch Rick, his expression hard but Glenn knew the man was barely holding on. He hoped Shane and the other man he left with, Otis, would hurry back soon. He couldn't witness Rick's undoing.
That's when he realized he couldn't be in that house anymore. It was a nice house and everything, but if Carl dies in there it'll be a constant reminder of that. Too many things were happening at once. Glenn stood up, glancing back at T-Dog who was getting stitched up, high off of the pills a certain redneck supplied. When Glenn looked up from T-Dog's arm his eyes met with Maggie's and he nodded and smiled weakly before walking off.
Glenn sat down on the stairs of the porch. He lazily picked at the chipped white paint of the support beams and sighed. His dark coal eyes scanned over the darkening farm and over the impromptu camp they made. Well it seems that Carol was actually making their hastily made camp more organized in the setting sun.
Glenn somehow figured sleep would come easy tonight. Yeah, he was stressing awfully but for once in a long time they had a resting spot. And this farm looked pretty secure. Sure there were no high gates and endless weapons in their arsenal, but it was spacious and anyone could easily spot any stray walkers.
He ran a hand through his hair and realized that he was missing his hat. It was probably in the RV or something. The slight breeze felt nice so he wasn't in a rush to go find it.
There was a light, dim but nevertheless noticeable, further away from the group.
Daryl. Of course the Dixon would seclude himself from the rest of the group. Daryl was in his tent, probably entertaining himself with a stuffed squirrel or something, or cleaning his already clean crossbow.
Glenn stood up and walked in the direction of the rednecks tent just as Maggie came out the house. Glenn seriously hoped he didn't step in any shit as he walked these fields.
Glenn stopped the tent a few times, saying "knock, knock", but he was sure Daryl already knew someone was outside his tent. The guy could probably hear a squirrel take a shit from a mile away.
Daryl unzipped his tent, nodding his greeting. Glenn slipped in quickly and quietly. The only lighting was from a lantern, glowing orange and slightly on the romantic side. Not that Glenn was hoping for anything romantic to happen.
"What are you doing in here, having a séance?" Glenn tease, sitting down on Daryl's sleeping bag.
Daryl didn't seem all that amused, at all. He just gave Glenn one of his usual glares and asked why Glenn was bothering him.
"Well, someone's grumpy," Glenn muttered. Daryl continued to glare. "I couldn't stay in that house any longer. I needed to be somewhere quiet. At least get away from all that stress for a few hours."
"If ya want quiet so bad, why ya still talkin'?" Daryl drawled.
Glenn's mouth opened then shut, looking like a fish out of water. His eyes widened even more when he saw what was resting on Daryl's lap.
"You read?" Glenn pointed to Daryl's lap, subtly looking at the rednecks crotch.
"Yeah, why does that surprise ya?"
Well, you are a crazy redneck. Reading didn't seem like something that was in your forte. Of course Glenn didn't say this. He didn't want to die yet. He just shook his head but the glare he received made it feel like Daryl knew what he was thinking. His next words confirming that.
"I ain't fucking stupid. I can read a goddamned book as good as anyone else, chink." He growled and Glenn wondered why he came exactly.
Glenn held up his hands in surrender. "I…never mind. Sorry for being a dick. Go back to your reading like I'm not here."
Daryl looked like he was about to roll his eyes, instead he just grunted and laid back, going back to the stupid book Dale had lent him. Glenn knew that almost everyone in their ragtag group has picked up that book at some time. He felt bad for Daryl, that book sucked.
"This book is fuckin' shit!" Daryl grumbled only after five minutes of reading in silence.
Glenn scoffed. "You really need to stop doing that."
"Doin' what?" Daryl snapped, frowning at the Korean.
"Reading my mind. You've been doing that ever since we met." Glenn leaned forward, eyes gleaming and mouth twitching like he was holding in a secret. "Can you secretly read minds, Daryl Dixon?"
Daryl snorted. "Maybe you're easy to read."
"I am not. You're just a mind reading redneck." Glenn realized that a large smile was plastered on his face and he didn't care.
The way Daryl's lips turned up at the sides made everything worth it. Glenn felt slightly accomplished at making the older man smile. "I call it being observant, kid."
Glenn hummed and they fell into a comfortable silence. Glenn thought to himself as Daryl flipped through the pages. It was nice, honestly.
Until he started thinking about Carl. Would he live? Would Shane get back in time? If he doesn't and Herschel does the operation without any supplies, Carl will die. And shit will completely hit the fan, actually more like destroy the fan. Plus, Sophia was still missing. Children will never be safe in this world.
"Stop worrying, kid. They'll be fine."
Glenn blinked, almost confused until he realized what Daryl was talking about. "Mind reading again, Daryl? Or should I call you Professor X? It's not nice to snoop, you know."
This time Daryl did roll his eyes. "Easy to read, Short Round."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Glenn said as he lay on his back again.
"Carl's going to be fine. Sophia's going to be fine. Even if some shit hits the fan, it won't add up to what's gonna happen in the future." Daryl muttered cryptically.
"What do you mean?" This time, when Glenn leaned forward he didn't look mischievous, he just looked curious.
Daryl just shrugged. "Jus' a feeling I have. Like how you know when it's gonna rain. I jus' think somethin' real shitty is about to happen."
"Now you can see into the future. Super Dixon to the rescue." Glenn teased with a lazy smile.
"You gonna shut the fuck up yet." It really wasn't a question and his voice didn't hold any venom to it, he actually sounded amused.
"Can I be your sidekick?"
"Uh…I guess," the redneck answered awkwardly.
"Then yes, yes I will shut the fuck up."
For almost an hour they sat in an almost silent atmosphere. They only spoke when Glenn made some random comment or voiced whatever was on his mind. Daryl barely made any attempt to talk back but he was amused. This book was stupid and he craved Glenn's stupid comments. He wouldn't admit that though.
Daryl stopped reading once he realized that Glenn has been silent for too long, almost ten minutes. He turned his head and saw that the Korean was fast asleep, lying on his side, facing him. His breathing came out in small puffs through slightly parted lips. As Glenn slept Daryl traced every detail of his face, memorizing everything he saw.
He stopped once he realized how creepy that was. He closed the book, turned off the lantern, and turned to his side. He fell asleep facing Glenn.