A little on the short side but I feel good about where it ends. There will be another Merle/OC one shot coming in a few days that's longer. Hope you enjoy :)

Just Another Blade Of Grass

When you lived in a small town in the backwoods of Georgia there wasn't much to do on a Friday night. Allie liked going to the bar, sitting in her corner booth, and watching the night play out like it was a television show. She wore her scuffed boots and torn jeans not only because it was what she could afford but because it was what she was most comfortable in. Allie never put much stock into what she wore. She didn't care about the latest fashions or what the newest trend was going to be- the ones that everyone obsessed about until the next one came along. She was never completely comfortable in her own skin and when she saw him it only made it worse. He was like gravity. Everyone in the room, men and women alike, were drawn to him. He claimed their attention, soaking it in with boisterous laughter. He ordered another round at the bar while the men enjoyed his lewd comments and the women shamelessly threw themselves at him. She watched in amazement from her booth, the shadows cloaking her presence. He had been granted with a body that made heads turn and a mouth that would have a nun dropping to her knees in prayer but it was his eyes that drew her in. They would crease when he smiled creating little crows feet but his baby blues held a story that was waiting to be set free.

Allie sat there week after week just watching him in his element from the sidelines. She may have grown up in the town and gone to school with most of the people in the bar that night but she would always be an outsider. In school she felt unplaceable. She didn't play any sports so she was ignored by the jocks and her grades were average but not high enough to fit in with the bookworms. She didn't have the courage to speak her mind so she would quietly sit in the back of the classroom where even the teachers would forget she was there. Allie envied the girls that talked animatedly in the hallway about their plans for the weekend. She wanted to fit in but thinking back now maybe she had the most courage out of them all; she didn't fall down the rabbit hole of losing herself to fit in- she was her own person. Being courageous came with the price of loneliness though, a devil within itself that sat heavily on her heart tearing it to pieces. Silent tears would roll down her cheeks wondering when it would all be over. Comfort wasn't given at home either because her mother didn't have the time for such trivial things like a daughter who felt like she was drowning. She would roll her heavily kohl lined eyes and tell Allie that high school was only four years then she had the rest of her life to be whoever she wanted to be. Her mother didn't understand the loneliness, she didn't understand why she couldn't put more effort into her looks, or even try to get along with the other girls.

High school was only supposed to be four years but sitting in that bar, hidden by the shadows, she realized once an outsider always an outsider. She would forever be the girl who watched everyone else living life while it passed her by and she couldn't take it anymore. Allie was ready to throw her fears to the wind and make a deal with the devil himself for one day of being accepted. Allie was ready to throw it all away just so he would notice her. She went home that night and said goodbye to the lonely little girl. She traded her scuffed boots for a pair of blood red high heels, her torn jeans for a pair of black pants that were so tight they left nothing for the imagination, and a red halter top replaced the oversized graphic t-shirts she was used to wearing. She wasn't very skilled with her makeup but her eyes had just enough to hide her fear as she opened the door to the bar the next night. For a brief moment she wanted to dart off to her corner where she felt most comfortable but when she thought about all the years she spent in the shadows her feet started carrying her forward. The bartender barely glanced in her direction as he waited to hear her order.

"Screaming orgasm."

A heavy arm draped over her shoulders, "Think I could help you out with that, darlin'."

Allie only said two words and had already caught the attention of Merle Dixon. Butterflies filled her stomach but this was her chance, the moment she had been waiting for, and she wasn't going to turn back now. "Is that a promise?"

X-X-X

The sex had been more than she was expecting and Merle had for sure kept his promise. A blush warmed her cheeks as she thought about how vocal she had actually been. Allie had worried that she wouldn't be skilled enough to please him in the same way but when he pulled out and covered the small of her back with his seed she smiled.

Self-doubt started to creep back in like a demon hiding in the shadows of the room as she lay naked next to him while he slept, soft snores escaping his mouth. This seemed like a good idea a few hours earlier when the devil himself was pumping her full of courage but now she was the same shy, scared little girl. Slipping out of the bed, she tiptoed around the room to locate her clothes.

"Took your shirt off in the hallway."

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't even hear him stop snoring. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

He grumbled something unintelligible and patted the bed next to him, "Too early to be up."

"I really should be going," Allie insisted, crossing her arms over her chest until she could find her shirt.

X-X-X

Allie didn't like wearing the mask of another person, she got to live in the light for one night but it came at a price she wasn't sure she could afford. She tucked the high heels in the back of her closet and dressed in her normal, comfortable clothes before talking herself into going back to the bar. She figured she would just slip back into her corner and no one would notice. Why would they? They never have before.

Someone slid into the opposite side of the booth and she loudly sighed, not having any energy to deal with the town creep. "Not tonight, Shane, I'm not in the mood."

"Didn't know this seat was saved."

She whipped her head up at the sound of Merle's voice and stumbled over her words as she gave a lame attempt to fix her hair. "It's not."

"Good," he nodded once, taking a long pull from his cigarette.

Allie chewed on her bottom lip, unsure of what to say or do. "About last night…"

A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips, "They always say it's the quiet ones you have to look out for." He whistled through his teeth and shook his head. "Gave me a run for my money, Allie, and damn if I wouldn't like another go at it."

"You know my name?" She blurted out before really thinking about what she was saying and her cheeks burned red with embarrassment as he laughed.

"I'd say so you've lived here your whole life."

"I know…but you've…I mean…" she stumbled over her words again, the man in front of her thoroughly confusing every thought she had.

"You want to catch the best game out there you don't go running at it guns blazing, you let it do its thing, and when its ready it'll come to you."

Her whole life Allie felt like just another blade of grass, someone easily looked past, but when she was with Merle Dixon he made her feel like that four leaf clover everyone craved to find. He didn't care about the clothes or the shoes that gave her feet blisters but he didn't mind when she brought out the red lipstick every once in awhile. It brought out the confidence in her that had been hiding all these years. For once Allie wasn't cowering in the shadows of life but living and enjoying every moment of the light he showed her.