AN: Totally not sure where this story is going. Just a thought that popped into my head and I'm running with it. Let me know if there's potential here. First thing I've posted in years. I have an entire summer void of school interruptions and as such I hope to be able to write more. I do NOT own The Walking Dead or any of the characters but if I did I'd make Daryl do things that would make Christian Grey blush! hehe.

Enjoy!

"The One Where They Met At School"

Why you wanna spend ya damn time in a class? You know you ain't never gonna be smart. Ya ain't worth nothin little brother. You better off quittin now.

Daryl sat in the back of the classroom chewing on his thumb as students filed in one after the other. He knew he was the oldest one in the class but he didn't realize just how old until he saw the others arriving. He wanted to flee before class even started and hearing Merle's voice like a damn broken record sure wasn't helping his mood.

He kept his head down with his hair falling into his eyes as he shifted his view from the desk in front of him to the door to his left. He was wondering if it was too late to just get up and leave the room. As much as he was uncomfortable he knew he had to do this. He had to take this class to fulfill the general education requirement for his certification is business management.

He spent the last five years working his way up the chain at a local mechanic shop but he was finally at the last rung of the ladder. His boss told him he needed to take a few business classes before he could promote him further. He didn't even really care about being promoted but he was ultimately backed into a corner by his boss. Jackass said he either took the classes or he'd have to find someone else who would. Daryl knew he wasn't truly a jackass but he still didn't think it was fair to be pushed into something he wasn't comfortable with.

In the end, Daryl agreed to take the classes because he was tired of others looking down on him. They just saw some old, dirty redneck who was simple. Truth was that Daryl just liked to live a quiet kind of life where he didn't have to think of anyone but himself or put up with the dramatics others tended to bring around. He had enough of that dealing with Merle.

Merle. No sooner was the dumbass released from a cell he was back up to his old tricks. Loose women, drugs, drinks and violence. Last time he saw Merle was when he'd gotten a call from Bob the Bartender in town that Merle was causing trouble as usual and Daryl had to go down and put a stop to it. After dragging his very intoxicated brother out of the bar the two brothers ended up arguing about Daryl driving them home. Merle swung out with a hard right hook knocking Daryl to the ground. By the time Daryl got back to his feet Merle was on his bike heading towards the highway. That was a year ago.

A year had passed without a single word from his brother. The only blood relative he had and he just abandoned him. Daryl wouldn't say he missed Merle but he wouldn't mind hearing that he was at least okay. Not like he was expecting some happy family reunion between the two but a cold beer between brothers would have been nice time from time.

Instead, Daryl focused on work. He went to work early and he stayed late. He read nearly every book in the office on how to fix just about any car related problem that would come into the shop. He even managed to strike up a friendship of sorts with his boss Dale. With Merle gone Daryl actually felt relieved that he was able to accomplish so much. Then he felt disgusted with himself for feeling grateful for his brother's absence.

Snapping out of his thoughts Daryl looked up in time to see the instructor make his way to the front of the class. He seemed to be a bit on the pudgier side, a bit nerdy looking and sporting a mullet. Daryl snorted at that one. How many teachers did you normally see rocking a mullet? None.

A class syllabus was being handed out to go over the student learning objectives for the upcoming semester. As they were going over it Daryl scribbled notes so he knew what exactly they would need to understand. Just as they were informed by Eugene the professor on the importance of partnering up with a fellow student for success in the class, the squeaking of the door's hinges brought every head in the entire class to turn around to see the new addition. Except Daryl.

He was too busy trying to write down the last bit of information to pay attention to a squeaky door. The class was already filled to the brim with students and as a result there were only a limited number of seats left. Actually, there was only one seat left. The seat directly adjacent to Daryl's.

When Eugene continued his monologue about the syllabus Daryl refocused his attention to the front of the class. Until a whisper broke his concentration.

"Excuse me. Do you mind if we share?"

A pretty, blonde girl was sitting in the chair to his left and smiling politely at him. He was caught completely off guard. Normally, people didn't tend to sit by Daryl. They thought he was dangerous or scary and wanted to be as far away as possible from him. Seeing such an innocent looking face with ocean blue eyes staring at him with an unknown warmth left Daryl at a loss for words.

He couldn't help himself from looking her over. She had lean legs, natural curves, soft pink cheeks, deep blue eyes and blonde hair. You could tell she was a natural blonde though. None of that bottled or bleach blonde most of the other girls on the campus seemed to favor. Daryl never could understand why women felt the need to falsify their natural looks. He preferred when girls looked natural. Not like Merle who liked overly make-up wearing, fake breasted, dye job generic Barbie doll girls.

The silence seemed to stretch between the time the girl asked him a question to the time it seemed like it took for him to answer. He simply nodded and hummed an affirmation. She smiled more at him and then leaned over her desk towards him to get a better look at the paper. From this angle Daryl could just see the outline of the girl's breasts. She was wearing a medium cut v-neck shirt but the action of leaning over seemed to propel her chest toward Daryl.

Look at that baby brother. She doesn't even know your name and she's already asking for it. Practically out on a damn platter for ya.

Daryl shook his head to rid himself of Merle's voice. The class continued with little more thought to the girl sitting next to him until the professor called for a ten minute break midway through the class. Most of the students got up and practically ran from the classroom. Couldn't blame them, Eugene was a bit of a dull instructor.

"Thank you for sharing with me. I'm not usually late to class, especially on the first day but my last class is practically across campus and I got lost trying to get here… Anyway, thanks."

The blonde was thanking him? She was speaking to him but not at him. It was different. Good but different. Not many people talked to him. Not even Merle. With Merle you get talked at or you get talked down to.

"S'okay." He said in response, shrugging one shoulder. He peaked at her from beneath the fringe of his hair to see what she was doing. Apparently, she thought watching him silently was more interesting than anything else in the area.

"I'm Beth." Beth. A sweet name for a sweet girl. Daryl frowned at the thoughts of the blonde. He didn't need to keep talking to her. She was probably some rich bitch anyway. Talking to her would only lead to accusations, betrayal or pain in the end anyway. He once again returned his attention back to his paper. He never responded to the gesture she made with her name but he felt like he was screwed either way. His suspicions were confirmed minutes later after Eugene walked back in.

"Alright. Now that we all have a general idea of what we'll be working on this semester I'd like you to partner up with the person next to you and exchange information. It's important to know that your grades result in partnership cooperation. The better you work together the better your grade will be."

Fuck! Daryl thought. This was going to be a long semester. He hated working with others. Especially if they were vapid sorority girls. Turning in his seat a little Daryl saw Beth looking back at him with defiance in her posture. She held out her hand towards him.

"Guess we're in this together, huh?" Daryl grunted in acknowledgement.

"I'm Beth." She said again still holding out her hand in a challenge.

Daryl wiped his hand on his pants before sticking his out to shake her waiting one.

"Daryl." He said as they shook. The small release of air from her seemed to go unnoticed by Daryl. He was too concerned with way his heart seemed to be trying to escape from his chest.