Beth Green was 17 years old when she first fell in love.
He didn't know it then, but when he saved her life from a herd of walkers he has also stolen her heart. At first, she thought it was a silly crush, one that would soon fade away. After all, given the time's circumstances there was a very limited choice of men that were close to her age. In fact, the nearest one to her age was Carl.
And though she knew that Carl had a crush on her she tried to be fair when she couldn't reciprocate her feelings to him, he was only 12 and she was a teenager. But then after a while, the feelings wouldn't fade away and as much as she tried to will them to disappear they didn't. She knew it was stupid, he was a grown ass man and to him she was just another kid with a stupid crush. Now she knew what it was like when Carl had feelings for her, it sucks when your feelings are only one sided. It was no news to everyone in the camp about her feelings. Everyone knew, even Shane himself. And when he found out he had to turn her down gently, it was humiliating. Beth was tending to the hen's one day when she heard that sound of a throat being cleared.
"Hey, can we talk?" He asked her while she was carrying a basket of chicken eggs for breakfast. Beth was surprised that he wanted talk to her. He never seemed to acknowledge her whenever they were with the group before, a furious blush swept past her cheeks and before she turned around she forced her heart beat to slow down by taking deep breaths. And when she was sure she was stable she turned around and flashed him a beaming smile.
"Sure." She chirped, when he gestured for her to sit down and she did. "I don't really know how to go about this." He said while rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Is something wrong?"
"Look, I've heard." He said, trying to get straight to the point. While hoping that she would catch on at the same time.
"Heard what?" She asked, feeling her stomach flutter with nerves.
"About your…infatuation with me. While, I am flattered by it, truly I am and all. Its just I'm hoping that we could be friends." Out of all things that she was expecting Shane to say, she was never expecting that. And almost instantly a wave of humiliation crashed into her, making her heart suddenly feel heavy when it was just as light as a feather moments ago.
"Oh." She said, trying her hardest to mask the disappointment on her face.
"Sure…its alright." She lied, it wasn't alright, it was painfully humiliating. He was treating her and talking to her like a child. Like everyone else in the camp, no one ever saw her or regarded her as a valueable member in the group. At the moment, she instantly wished that she were Maggie. She would know what to do or say in moments like these. Her first crush was turning her down, in the most gentliest way he could possible imagine. And while she appreciated that fact that he tried not to sound rude about it, it still hurt.
"Great. That's great, I'm glad we were able to clear things up kid. I'm sure you'll find a nice guys somewhere who's worthy of your attention." He said while flashing her a smile and messing up her hair.
Just some kid.
That was all she ever was to people around this camp, no one has ever been able to take her seriously, and she wasn't sure which one hurt the most. The fact that everyone saw her as a child, or the fact that Shane did. Either way both situations were embarrassing to Beth, and there was only one way that she knew that that could end that. And that was that she had to do something that terrified her the most. She had to convince Daryl Dixon to somehow train her to be able enough to go on a run with the group. And maybe then, Shane would see that she wasn't just some little kid anymore. After taking the eggs to the kitchen, she was hell bent on seeking the angry red neck out and boy was she nervous. She tried not to look like she was but Daryl Dixon was an intimidating man. Her mama has told her all kinds of stories about these types of men, and Beth had to keep her guard up when it came to the likes of Daryl Dixon. She decided to approach him after dinner.
After dinner, she slowly started trudging her way towards Daryl Dixon's small camp sight. She couldn't help but notice how distant the man really was from the group and her family. It was as though he preferred the solice of solitude than being with friends. Beth began to wander if he had any friends in the first place. It's a horrible thing to be alone, and nobody should be alone. Beth cringed when she saw a thin line of dead squirrles hung up on the string. He was simple man, who had a small little tent, and a fire pit. She couldn't understand his thinking or reasoning.
"H-hello?" She hesitnantly called out, secretly hoping that he wasn't there. She cleared her throat, and clenched her hands into tight fists to prevent them from shaking profously and unnecessarily. She tried again.
"H-…" Her voice was caught off when a cold blade suddenly touched the base of her neck and she couldn't fight the hoarse gasp flew past her lips when she felt a strong arm wrap around her chest.
"What do you wan' from me girl?" He gruffed out against her earlobe. "I-I just wanted to talk." She breathed out shakily.
"Well you is talkin' now ain't ya', now get to it." He said angrily while releasing her and getting started on cooking his dinner.
Beth took a deep breath, and decided to get it over with before she suddenly followed her instincts and took off running back to her daddy.
"I want you train me." She said all in one breath, making Daryl freeze and his shoulders tense.
There was a long pause, and for a moment she felt stupid. Of course he wouldn't agree to this, she slowly began to turn around until his voice made her stop in mid step.
"Why?" He gruffed out, while sharpening his knife without looking back at her.
"I-I want to volunteer on the next run?" She said trying to stand firm even though it came out more as a question.
He barked out laugh and stood up, his large frame hovering over her small body, his fingers hood the sides of his jeans as he stared her over.
"You wan' a go on a run?" He questioned while arching a brow at her. Beth tried to come up with a believable excuse.
"I have to be able to defend myself don't I? I'm tired of just looking like I'm worthless to the group, I want to be able to do something." She said.
"You're askin' the wrong man girl, ask your sister to train ya'." He said while turning around, out of instinct Beth reached out and grabbed his bicep forcing him to face her. She backed up and recoiled when she met an angry expression on his face at being grabbed like that.
"Please. You're the only one. Maggie would never agree to it, and she is bound to tell my daddy about it. I'm asking you to do it because I know you won't go easy on me or treat me like a kid. I need this." Beth couldn't believe that she would ever meet Daryl Dixon like this. The two have never uttered a word before this exchange, and their first meeting had to be with Beth basically groveling at the red neck's feet.
Daryl Dixon was confussed as hell. He wasn't sure why Hershel's princess was suddenly seeking him out and trying to get herself into trouble. After all, he two never really spoke before, but she was right on one thing, the girl needed to learn how to defend herself. And even though Hershel would never agree to it, they had to find some way to train without her old man getting on his back.
"A'right." He drawled out lazily, making Beth's heart stop beating for a few moments before starting up again. Her eyes practically glowed with excitement and hope at the prospect of him actually agreeing with her.
"But just know now that if you slack off, or miss one day of my trainin' the deal is off. I ain't wastin' my time on some kid when I have better things to do." He gruffed out. Beth let out a small squeal, and instinctively reached out and wrapped Daryl Dixon in a big hug catching him off guard.
"You won't regret this Mr. Dixon!" She said, "yeah whatever, and in the future its just Daryl a'right? Now get, and leave me be girl." He said.
Once Daryl is done with her, nobody will ever see Beth Greene as a little kid again.
