Hi everyone! However you ended up at my little story, thanks for checking it out. I love all things The Walking Dead and Norman Reedus. And honestly I may have imagined meeting him more than once. ;) It may start out slow, but I'll be building to more Anna/Norman interaction and complications. I started out writing this just for me but decided I'd post it here in case there were any other readers looking for a Norman fanfic. Hope you guys enjoy, and I'd appreciate any thoughts you have. Thanks!
I'm exhausted. If it wasn't for the fact that the scenes I was shooting today were badass, I probably would have passed the fuck out. Early morning phone interviews and late evening set time is a rough combination. I got on the Triumph and headed to my home away from home. Not a fan in sight. Combo of the late hour and newly posted signs I suspect. I let myself melt into the bike. Nothing like an evening ride to clear and relax my mind.
A car in the distance snapped me to life. Shit, that sucks. Blowing a tire in BFE this late at night. I saw a pair of pink flip flops come into view. Shit, had to stop now. I would hate for my mom to be stuck out here alone. I put the bike in park and hopped off.
"Thanks for stopping, but I've got this. I appreciate the thought though." a hidden voice said. I couldn't help but smile.
"You sure? It's really not a problem."
"Honey, I was raised in this area. My daddy taught me to change a tire as soon as I got my license. It's a bitch but it's no thing," she said confidently.
I smiled again and crossed my arms. I had to meet this girl. Regardless of her confidence, no way in hell I was going to leave a woman out on a back road alone in the middle of the night. Horror movies start with shit like that. I guess when she didn't hear my bike start back up, she got suspicious.
"Listen, guy, I said I have this, so you can go. However, if you have other plans, you should know I have a tire iron and I played ball all through college," she said while coming into view.
I raised my hands in surrender, trying to let the smile on my face show I meant no harm. "Whoa. Whoa, Slugger. I just didn't want to leave a lady alone on a dark deserted road."
"Fuck." she uttered and dropped the iron. I laughed; she must have recognized me.
"My bark is worse than my bite. Usually." she said smiling the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen. I took a second to take her in. She couldn't have been more than 5'4" or 5" with short brunette hair pulled up in a ponytail. Showing the perfect amount of sun kissed skin and friendly brown eyes. A few visible tattoos. Perfect. I was guaranteed to act like an idiot now.
"Well your bark was pretty impressive. Seems like you can handle yourself, but I'd still like to stick around, if you don't mind. There could be sickos out here," I paused when she laughed, "me, not being one of them. Hi, I'm Norman," I said reaching out to shake her hand.
She wiped her hand on her shorts before taking my hand in hers, "Yeah, Norman Reedus. We all know you around here. Hi, I'm Annalise Baker. You can call me Anna. Sorry for the grease."
"Look at me. A little extra clean up really won't be a problem," I laughed.
"Yeah, you look like hell. Are you in a zombie apocalypse or something?" she smirked. I loved a smartass.
"You know it. That and these bastards keep chasing me around." I teased back.
"Really? Don't give me too many spoilers now. Well, I should really get this changed, so if you're set on sticking around, have a seat and keep me company." she said pointed to a the grass near her and crouching back down to focus on the tire.
"I really don't mind helping," I said walking around to her. She arched an eyebrow at me and waved me on. I couldn't help but smile. I took a seat near her and watched her work. She really had done the hard part already. The only thing left to do was tighten a few nuts and put the car back down.
I admired a woman who could take care of herself. My mom showed me the importance of that. Anna seemed very different from most women I'd been attracted to. I guess in this industry you are around so many people who are used to having things done for them, that self-reliance gets overlooked sometimes. And that dependence had become tiresome. The last relationship I had was draining. She was just too young; I knew that going into it, but it didn't stop me. I was tired of bringing people into Mingus' life who weren't going to be there long.
"Hey. Norman. Ya still there?" Anna asked peaking around to see me. She must have asked me a question.
"Sorry, yeah. Just kinda zoned; long day. What was that?"
"I asked if you could grab the towel in my back seat, please? And a preemptive 'don't judge me' is in order." she said with a laugh.
"Sure," I said and made my way to back. Damn, she had a lot of shit in here. I couldn't help but laugh a little. Water bottles, make-up, books, gym bag, baking sheets; what didn't she have in here. Her warning now made sense.
"Here ya go, Slugger." I said tossing her the towel. She lowered the jack and stood up wiping her hands off.
"So the knick-name is sticking, huh?"
"Oh, for sure," I said smiling.
She shifted from one foot to the other and finally said, "Well, I should get going. I have an early morning, and I'm sure you'd like to get home and clean up."
I really didn't though. I wanted nothing more than to stay and get to know this woman. I was getting ready to ask if I could see her sometime when her phone rang.
"Hey. No, I'm on my way. Just had a flat. No, I got it changed and someone stopped to check on me," she smiled and looked at me, "Yeah, I'll text you when I get home. Love you too. Bye." She had a boyfriend. And why wouldn't she; she seemed great. Damn, just my luck. She walked to the drivers side, and I opened her door.
"Thanks for stopping tonight. It was nice to have the company. And I'd be lying if I didn't say it was great meeting you," she giggled. She was so cute.
"You're welcome. What kind of guy would I have been if I'd just drove by? It was nice to meet you, Anna. Drive safe and maybe I'll run into you again sometime." I really hoped so.
"Maybe. You too, Norman." She said and slid into the car. I stepped aside so she could drive off. I turned to walk back to my bike.
"Hey Norman!" she shouted. I turned back to her. "Daryl has always been my favorite." she said with a smile and drove off.
I just stood then watching her drive off. I was her favorite huh. Damn, I was going to dream of those brown eyes tonight I thought as I started my bike.