Prompt: It's their first night in the Alexandria Safe Zone. As our group gets more acclimated to their surroundings, it comes time for their names to be taken down for the official records! Someone in the group gets mistaken for someone famous. Levity abounds! Please enjoy and leave a review if you are moved to do so! :)
Daryl ran his fingers through his clean hair, his eyes closed at the feeling of the damp strands running effortlessly through his now unmatted locks. Carol giggled, she had been watching him do this ever since he returned from the bathroom. Everyone was taking turns showering that night, and for the benefit of the, group they had nominated the men to go first. The tight space had magnified the smell tenfold, and Carol was thankful the room was getting filled with more and more clean bodies as the night dragged on.
When it came to her turn to hop in the shower, she couldn't step out of her boots fast enough. She sat on the toilet in the bathroom and pulled her socks off, wiggling her toes free. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly covered her mouth at the smell that assaulted her nostrils. After being on the road for so long, she had wondered what would become of her feet after being crammed in her boots for weeks, but she hadn't imagined that it would be this bad. She quickly rose, letting her feet hit the cool tile. She shrugged off her shirt, stripping down to her pants and bra. She wiped away the fog on the mirror with the intent of checking on her bruises, but she was startled at the reflection that stared back at her.
Her hair was long, and not only that, it was nearly all grey. She ran her fingers through it and pulled at the ends, spiking it out. Smiling at her new rock n' roll hairstyle, Carol turned to the shower and twisted the handle into the 'on' position. The cool droplets struck her skin and gooseflesh broke out on her arm. Wasting no time, she let the rest of her clothes drop to the floor and she climbed into the shower. The bottle of shampoo had the words 'for men' on it in big black letters, though she supposed it didn't matter anymore. She just wanted to smell like a person again. Starting with her face she gradually worked herself over, kneading her tense muscles under the warm stream.
Once she was finished washing off all the grime coating her skin, she toweled herself off and noticed a clean outfit sitting on the bathroom counter.
"Alright," she stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around her shoulders and glanced at the other ladies waiting against the wall, "squeaky clean. Who's next?" She watched the remaining women look at eachother and laugh.
"You all are being way too polite." Tara stood up from her place next to Eugene and shut the door behind her rather loudly.
Carol continued to run the towel over her head as she sat next to Daryl on the floor. She rubbed her head vigorously and Daryl chuckled next to her.
"You look kind of um…" he looked at her hair and rubbed his hands together nervously, "fluffy." He immediately turned red and looked away.
She couldn't help the smile that broke out across her face at his embarrassment, "Is that a complement, Daryl?" She stroked her own hair, realizing that she had left some of the shampoo in. Her hair was spiked in several unnatural directions and she imagined how silly she must have looked.
He chewed his bottom lip nervously, "No. I mean, yes. I—'' he was cut off as a short, brunette walked into the room.
"Hello, there! I'm assuming you all are Rick's group we were told about?" Her pause was met with grunts and sleepy waves from the survivors in the room.
"Alright then, I'm Deborah, and I'm here to try and take down all your names. I hope that isn't too much trouble." She began at the end of the room and took down everyone's names; first and last. Just after she moved away from Abraham and Rosita, her eyes locked onto the spot where Carol and Daryl were seated. Carol fidgeted nervously under the woman's gaze and looked to Daryl, who seemed to notice their new admirer, too.
"You people have any boundaries?" Daryl called out from the side of the room and the young woman quickly looked down to her clipboard again.
"Yeesh," Carol breathed, leaning in to Daryl's side, "you'd think after all that's happened people wouldn't have forgotten their manners." She smiled up at him devilishly.
Daryl grinned sheepishly and nudged her, "Stop," he readjusted himself so his knees were drawn up to his chest, "it was just creeping me out is all."
Everyone continued repeating their names to the woman with the clipboard, but Carol and Daryl remained nameless too her.
"Well, thank you all, I shall see myself out," she sheepishly grinned at Carol and quickly ducked out, "have a wonderful first night."
Carol raised herself into a standing position and followed the woman out of the room. She had nearly made it halfway down the stairs when Carol called down to her.
"Um, excuse me? Deborah?" the woman froze at the foot of the steps and turned around.
"Yes?" She followed Carol's gaze as she descended the stairs to meet her.
"You forgot to get my name earlier," the woman quickly glanced down at her clipboard, "and the name of the man I was sitting next to."
"Oh, did I?" the woman turned her clipboard around and pointed to a hastily scrawled name at the end of the list.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Carol couldn't believe what she was reading. Deborah seemed oddly proud of herself as she brightly said, "I'd recognize you anywhere! I took my daughter to see Freaky Friday for her 9th birthday!"
Carol continued to stare at her open-mouthed as she continued, "I have to admit I was a little disappointed when they took your Activia commercials off the air, but seeing you here in the flesh…It's an honor."
Carol was starting to correct her when Daryl shouted down to her, "Hey, Carol, you talk to her about our names?"
The woman's face fell, "Carol?" she shifted uncomfortably and fumbled for her pen, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I should have never assumed. I'm so stupid." She scribbled through Carol's name.
"Oh, no," Carol reached out towards the woman's arm and smiled, "I'm quite flattered! But my name is Carol."
The woman scrawled above her crossed out name and touched at the flush on her cheeks. She looked up to Daryl and gestured with her pen, "So I can also assume that he's not who I thought he was either?"
Carol nodded and withdrew her hand, "His name is Daryl Dixon. Need me to spell that?"
"No, 's fine, ma'am." she turned around and scribbled through the name below Carol's before writing down D-A-R-Y-L D-I-C-K-S-O-N.
Carol rolled her eyes and returned to the room with Daryl, "So what'd she think my name was?"
"You know who Jared Leto is?" He squinted at her through his bangs.
"Mmm, nope."
"Yeah me neither."
A/N: I suppose this is technically AU...I should have figured it would take Daryl days to shower. *sigh* You can take the boy out of the wild, but you can't take the wild out of the boy. A review would always be appreciated! I know I haven't been as active as I should be, but one-offs are always quick and fun! Caryl on! 3