This is my first TWD fic, and I haven't written in nearly 8 years (yikes). This starts and ends AU post-"A", but there's a whole chunk in the middle that's inspired by Death Cab For Cutie's Title Track, one of my favorite songs. Hope you enjoy!

"If the world hadn't of gone to shit, this wouldn't be happenin'."

Beth blinked up at him, tilting her head slightly, waiting for him to continue.

"I ain't what you'd want. You'd be in college. Findin' someone to bring home for Thanksgiving or some shit," Daryl swore, convinced of his own misgivings.

"Daryl, stop." She shook her head, her hand tugging gently on his hand. He shook his head back at her and moved his arm out of her grasp.

"I ain't it. Simple as that. You'd of never –"

Beth steeled herself, squaring her shoulders and looking him right in his icy blue eyes. "You don't know that."

It wasn't quite what it seemed, a lack of pleasantries

My able body isn't what it used to be

I must admit I was charmed by your advances

Your advantage left me helplessly into you

With summer break just about to start and finals winding down, the house party Beth Greene, her roommate and her sister were at was quiet. Students splintered off in small groups, hanging around the front porch, sitting on the living room couch, talking and drinking. There was a small game a beer pong in the garage and flip cup in the kitchen. Beth could vaguely hear the guy from her Intro to Lit class arguing with another kid about whose playlist they should use.

From her spot on the porch swing, her eyes scanned to her right, where her sister, Maggie, was leaning over the railing and texting her boyfriend. They were fighting, and Maggie was on the cusp of either being ready to leave, or ready to really drink. Beth's roommate, Teresa, was shamelessly flirting with the guy she had been hooking up with all of the second semester. The same guy who strung her along for months.

So Beth sipped her beer, and tried to take in the last moments of her first year at school. Her first year of living away from her home, her mama and daddy. She missed them. She missed the farm. But being away from home, experiencing new things and new people…it gave her a purpose. Showed her that there was something else out there in life. She wasn't sure what it was or what she was doing, but knew getting away from home, no matter how much it hurt being away from her family, was what she needed to do. Or, at least that's what the beer was making her think. She swung back and forth in the swing. She liked the feeling.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of someone hollering in the garage. Standing up and leaning over the railing, she peered around the side of the porch. Three older men were talking to the two kids who lived in the house. One of the roommates didn't look pleased.

"No way dude, these guys aren't stayin'," roommate number said, gesturing to the older men.

"Dude – they came to sell to some of the guys. Just let em' stay," roommate number two said, clear annoyance in his voice.

The oldest man of the three smirked, crossed his arms and walked up to roommate number one. "Why don't yeh listen to you little friend here, boy. We ain't come to start no trouble."

From what Beth could see, they definitely looked like trouble. And like they didn't belong at this party.

Roommate number one looked a little afraid. And definitely defeated. "Fine. But this shit's on you if the rednecks fuck anything up," he said as he brushed pass the group, leaving to head back into the house.

The older man cackled. "What? Don't yeh kids know how to party nowadays?" he yelled before popping open a beer from the cooler and drinking. He then put his arm around one of the other men in their group. He was younger, but definitely not in college. "Come on lil' brother. These young college girlies'll probably eat your sweet-as-pie routine right up."

Beth whipped herself back from the porch railing. They were headed her way. Hoping she wasn't caught spying, she sat back down on the swing, staring straight into the beer fizzing in her bright red, plastic cup.

"Beth, we're leaving." Maggie was suddenly in front of her, pulling her up from her seat, just as the men made their way towards them.

Beth yanked her arm away from her sister. "Maggie, I ain't leaving. I wanna stay." She glanced over towards Teresa, who was now wrapped up in her hook up's arms. "Plus, I ain't leavin' Teresa."

"Beth, we're going, "

"No, we're –"

"Now, now, calm down pussy cats. There's enough of ol' Merle to go around between the both of yeh." The older man, Merle, walked up to the two of them and eyed them both up and down.

Maggie sighed in disgust, while Beth rolled her eyes. In unison, they both gritted out "no thanks," before turning back to one another to continue yelling.

"Looks like yous both got a lil' fire in ya. I like you, sugar," Merle laughed and moved closer to Maggie.

The younger man of the group watched the exchanged before gently elbowing Merle in response.

"Let's just go inside and get this over with, Merle. They waitin'," the younger man said quietly, seemingly treading carefully.

Maggie, ignoring them, took Beth's arm and walked her into the house. As she was pulled, Beth turned her head, catching the blue eyes of the younger man. They seemed oddly kind, and younger than he looked. Maggie guided her into a hallway at the back of the house, but she could still hear Merle laughing at the scene.

"Maggie, let go." Beth pulled away from her sister.

"Beth, I ain't staying."

"Why?"

"Stephen. He's…he's just being stupid is all," Maggie said before pausing. "And, somethin'…it don't feel right. Like he's up to somethin'"

Her sister and Stephen had been together for a while. She also knew he wasn't it for Maggie. Her sister was tough, which was why she couldn't figure out why she was staying with someone when she knew it wasn't working.

"Maggie, forget him. I'm serious. You are not that girl. Let's just have fun for one night. You came to visit me for a reason – to get away. To stop thinkin'. Let's just both stop thinking."

Maggie looked up at her sister, half a smile playing on her face. "Not sure that's a good idea."

"It is. You need a break."

Beth could see her sister's guard coming down. "Since when did you get so smart?"

Beth smirked back at her, hitting her lightly in the arm. "Since I stopped living with you."

Maggie grinned and swung her arm around Beth's shoulder. "Fair enough. I can't believe I'm sayin' this, but let's get you a real drink."

Daryl did not like being at this party. It didn't feel right. He felt the college guys glaring at them, and the girls looking at them like the rednecks they were. Merle and his dealer friend were selling to a few of the kids in the house, and were in the back room now using. Daryl just wanted to get in and get out.

But, that didn't stop him from having some of the free drinks the kids were serving up. Merle, being Merle, had already caused issues with the kids who lived in the place. And had already scared away at least two chicks, one of whom was now making her way back into the kitchen where he stood off to the side, watching the kids play some drinking game.

He had seen her earlier, fightin' with her sister. She looked young and innocent, like this wasn't a party for a girl like her. Her blonde hair fell around her shoulders, messy from the humidity in the air, and she wore short jean shorts and a loose tank top. A tiny bit of a thing, though he'd seen a little spark in her out on the porch. Not a girl he'd think twice about…but here he was, staring at her as she grabbed four shot glasses and lined them up with whisky. Like she'd done it before.

She took down two shots, right after the other. Wincing slightly, she suddenly turned to him. "You want one?"

Realizing he'd been caught staring, Daryl immediately looked down. He didn't respond.

"Fine, more for me then," she shrugged, not unhappily, as she poured herself two more shots. She went to pick up the 4 glasses, but was stopped by his voice.

"You sure you wanna be doin' that?" he asked, moving a little closer to where she stood, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"I can handle it," she replied confidently.

"You don't look like it," he said. Daryl was pretty sure that two more shots of whisky, and this girl would be on the floor, no doubt about it.

Beth ignored the remark, but set the drinks back down on the counter, before turning to face him properly. "So that your brother, from before?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah…um, that'd be Merle," Daryl said, smirking a little.

"Real charmer," Beth joked.

Feeling a little embarrassed about his brother, Daryl felt uncomfortable. "He…he can be an asshole."

"S'fine. Nothin' we couldn't deal with," Beth shrugged.

Daryl doubted that. It's part of the reason why he knew they shouldn't be there. Girls like these girls...they shouldn't be no where near Merle or Jesse the dealer. Or even him. He went silent again, looking anywhere but at her.

Beth wasn't sure why this stranger had been looking at her, but she had seen him doing so, out of the corner of her eye. And some part of her wanted to know why, wanted to know him. So she picked up the conversation.

"So, what are y'all doin' here anyway?" she asked.

He finally looked at her, his eyes telling her what she already knew. He couldn't answer. He knew she wasn't that stupid.

"Oh…" Beth said, realization washing over her. "Never mind." She felt the blush creeping up on her cheeks, embarrassment for being naïve. She had heard them mention selling in the garage, but for some reason how he was didn't fit with the mental image she previously had of guys like that. She tried to shrug it off.

"So what's your name, brother of Merle?" she recovered. And was back to smiling up at him again. She had blue eyes too, he could see now.

"Daryl."

"Daryl...?" she questioned, almost teasingly.

"Daryl Dixon," he drawled, clearly not liking all the questions. For some reason Beth couldn't quite place, it charmed her.

"Well Daryl Dixon, I'm Beth Greene. It's good to meet ya," she said with so much Southern warmth is was practically radiating from her. This was not a girl Daryl had ever encountered. Normally, girls like this walked the other way when they saw him. But not this girl. It probably was because she'd already had two shots of whisky.

"Hey, you two wanna get in on this game?" the guy from her Lit class interrupted them from the kitchen island. He gestured towards both Beth and Daryl. "Our team just lost two players."

Beth looked up at Daryl, her blue eyes wide and eyebrow arched in question. "I'm game if you are…Maggie's playin' beer pong with the boys outside. Dominating them, last I saw. She can live without these shots, for now."

Daryl was silent, his eyes flicking from the boys who were at least 10 years younger than him to the girl definitely at least that young. He felt out of his skin.

Beth persisted. "Come on now – have a little fun before Merle's done doin' whatever it is he's doin'." A drunken smile played on her lips and her hand snaked its way around his wrist, tugging him along. She was a happy drunk.

He didn't know why, but he found himself following her over to the island. He barely knew the girl. A large part of him wanted to bolt. Wanted to leave and get as far away from this girl, from this party, from everything, as possible. But for some reason, this girl was pulling him in.

He stood across from a line of college guys and girls, all clearly on their way to wasted. Looking at the group of them, he was most definitely the odd man out, the one that didn't belong. But Beth, she wasn't treating him that way. She went right ahead, and setg up her cup next to him, pouring a small amount of beer into the cup in front of him.

"I ain't never had to play a game like this to get drunk before. And that ain't much," he said, pointing down to his cup.

"That's jus' for now. They're more rounds. You're the anchor. You drink last."

"Am I supposed to do somethin'…?" he trailed off, feeling a little embarrassed for not knowing the rules.

"You drink, then flip the cup, like this," Beth said, demonstrating with an empty cup. She flipped it over easily.

"Not much of a game…"

"You'll see, it's fun!"

Ten rounds later, he could see how the game could be fun. The college kids on his team were even cheering him on – apparently, he was good. Beth yelled his name when he flipped the final cup, helping them win again, before throwing her arms around his neck in celebration. He didn't know what to do with her touching him like that. Like they knew each other well. She smelled good. Of beer, and whisky and something sweet. Not something he'd ever smelled before. She touched him like she wasn't scared of him.

The spell she had on him was broken by the sound of a high-pitched girl on the other team.

"So that old guy back there selling, that your brother? Think you can get me a deal?" she slurred from across the island.

Suddenly, the reality of the situation – of who he was – hit him. Daryl looked around, and saw the all the kids looking at him. Judging him. He needed to escape.

He ignored the girl. "I need a smoke," he said quietly, before turning around and heading out of the kitchen.

Confused, Beth followed. "I'll come with ya," she called after him.

Sitting back down on the porch swing next to him, she pulled the already lit cigarette out of his fingers and placed it to her lips, inhaling and exhaling, before coughing a little. "My sister'll kill me if she sees me," she choked out.

"You ever smoke before?" He grabbed the cigarette back, his fingers lightly grazing hers.

"Once, in high school. Shawn, my older brother, he caught me and gave me hell for it. I don't really like it," she said, making a face.

"Maybe you shouldn't be smokin' then," he gruffed, before inhaling and exhaling, blowing the smoke in the opposite direction of where she sat.

"Maybe you shouldn't be tellin' me what to do, Mr. Dixon," she smiled at him, and bumped her shoulder against his. The swing went back and forth from the movement.

He couldn't help it, but he smirked back at her. Not sure of what to say, he found himself staring at the ground, finding his way from her shoes up her legs. She had a small scar on her knee. Part of him wanted to reach out and touch it, to even see if it was a real. A girl like this…she didn't have scars.

"You starring at my ugly knee?" She caught him again.

"I – uh, no…" he mumbled. "What happened there?" he finally asked, pointing at her knee.

"Fell off my horse. I grew up on a farm. Nelly – my horse – got spooked by somethin'. I fell and scrapped my knee against a rock."

"Not too bad," he murmured, still examining the spot. He stubbed out the remains of his cigarette and flicked into the night.

"I survived just fine. Just ugly now, is all," she said, her hand moving over her knee to hide it.

"S'not ugly," he stated, finally looking at her directly in the eyes.

How this pretty girl could think any part of her was ugly, he didn't understand. He could feel his throat getting dryer. Looking at her now, he wondered just how in the hell this she wanted anything to do with him. Why she was sitting on this porch swing, her shoulder pressed against his and looking at him with big blue eyes, like she knew him. Like she knew his ugly past and ugly future.

"Why you out here with me?" The words came out of his mouth, before he could stop them.

"Wha…what'd ya mean?" She was taken aback by his bluntness.

"Don't you wanna be with your friends?" he gestured inside.

"I like hanging out with you. You…you're nice. Different," she hesitantly replied.

Though she heard herself sounding unsure, Beth felt the beer and whiskey emboldening her. She moved her hand closer to his fingers which were gripping the seat of the swing. Her pinky finger lightly grazed his. She wasn't sure why this random redneck man was suddenly with her, at this random party. She wasn't even sure why she was intrigued by him, why she wanted to stay glued to her spot next to him. There was something beyond the front he had, she could see it. She could see something good in there.

"You're drunk, girl," Daryl said. But he moved his shoulder back against hers and kept looking at her, even though he knew he was giving himself away.

She thought he was kind of flirting with her. And, if she was honest with herself, she was kind of flirting with him. She found herself moving closer to his face, her tongue lightly licking her lips and her eyes locked on his. Her hand moved from just touching his pinky to his whole hand. "I ain't –"

"Well hey there, baby brother. And blondie. Don't you two look like two peas in a fucking pod," Merle interjected, thoroughly stopping both Beth and Daryl in their tracks. "Am I interrupting a special moment, Darylina? Always knew you liked the younger ones."

"Merle, shut up," Daryl said, rubbing his hands through his hair. He held his head in his hands, not wanting to look his brother in the face.

"And look at blondie over here – you sweet on my lil' brother? Everyone always liked him best," Merle mocked.

Merle was high. Daryl could see it. He knew he had to get him and the dealer out of here, before they really started something.

"Merle, stop," Daryl said, standing up from the swing and walking closer to his brother. "Why don't we get goin'? Didn't yeh say we have another house to get to?"

Merle seemed to consider what his brother was saying. Daryl figured the thought of another party and more booze and more money would distract him, at least for the time being.

"Always right little brother, always right," Merle said reluctantly, looking Beth up and down one last time. "Lemme go grab Jesse and I'll let you say goodnight to blondie."

Once Merle was out of an earshot, Daryl turned back to Beth , who was still sitting calmly and quietly. "M'sorry bout' that," he said.

"No need to be. He's your brother. I get it."

There was a commotion inside as Merle and Jimmy said their goodbyes to the rest of the party. Part of Daryl was pissed at Merle for his timing. The other was relieved he'd interrupted them when he did. This girl, it wasn't and could never be anything. And he couldn't bring himself to just be what he was with her. She wasn't the type for that. He could see she deserved better.

"That'd be my last call," he said. She could hear the hint of regret in his voice. She knew part of him didn't want to leave. And she didn't want him to leave. She wanted to stay right there with Daryl. The attraction coursing through her…it wasn't anything she'd felt before. She wanted to kiss him. To let him do things to her. And the fact that a practical stranger was making her feel these things, was, to say the least, a little unsettling. But also exciting.

She stood up, and walked over to him. "It was good meetin' ya, Daryl," she said finally.

"Um…yeah…you too," Daryl mumbled, nerves coursing through him as Beth moved closer. Suddenly, her fingers were weaving into his, squeezing his hand. He was in shock at the intimacy of it. In shock that this girl wanted to hold his hand. In shock that he was letting her.

"Maybe I'll see you around again…"she said, looking up at him hopefully.

"Maybe," he murmured, feeling himself being pulled in towards her again. Like a fucking magnet.

"Darylina! Time to git a move on, Jesse just got the call," Merle said, walking past them and out into the front yard.

Daryl looked after him, then back to Beth.

"Come on brother. Ain't got time for you to screw around with this un'," Merle yelled, before mumbling to Jesse, "It's like a god damn romance novel."

Daryl immediately pulled his hand out of Beth's grasp, realizing the verbal beating he was likely going to get from Merle on the way to the next party. He could already hear him calling him pussy-whipped.

"Gotta go Beth," he said finally.

Beth nodded her head, and gave him one final smile. "See you around, Mr. Dixon."

And with that, he was gone. The next thing Beth knew, Maggie was walking back onto the porch beside her.

"Who was that, Bethy?" Maggie teased. Now, Maggie was definitely a happy drunk.

"Daryl Dixon."

"Little old for you, ain't he? You didn't give him your number right?" Maggie asked, sounding like the bossy and concerned big sister she was.

"Nope," Beth said, a little hint of sadness in her voice. "Probably won't ever see him again."

I tried my best to keep my distance from your dress

But call-response overturns convictions every time

My memory cannot recall a wave of alcohol

We shared a cigarette and shaved the hours off

"You don't know that," Beth repeated. "You don't. So you stop it, Daryl Dixon."

"I woulda been just some asshole you passed right by. An' rightly so. I ain't someone you bring home."

Beth stepped into his space, grabbing his face in her hands.

"You are my home. Don't you get it? This is real – the world now is real. Everyone we were with was real. This world has brought us pain, but you…I can't regret any of what's happened. I wouldn't change you and me. I wouldn't."

"What you sayin' girl?"

"That you're scared," she said plainly. But there was a little smile playing on her lips.

He recognized it. "I ain't scared of nothin'" he replied back.

"I think you're scared of me," she stated. Sure as ever that's what it was.

"Is that really what you think?"

She smirked up at him, words replaying in her mind. "Yes. You're scared because I was gone. And I can't be certain that I'll always be here. But I while I am, I wanna live. While I was gone, knowin' you were out there, it kept me going. The things you taught me, helped keep me alive. Us, after the prison, knowin' what we went through, it kept me living. It made me realize…I wanna live with you by my side," she concluded gently.

She wasn't backing down. She was pushing her way in. Pushing past everything. And she knew everything. The way she looked at him…she saw him.

"Why me?" he whispered. His eyes closed, afraid to open and look at her.

She tugged on his arm again. "You are a good man. The best man. Maybe we would have never met, maybe we would have. But that doesn't matter now. This is our life. Don't you want to live it with me?"

His eyes still closed, he willed himself to be honest with her. To be honest with himself. So he said it.

"Yes."

Everything drained out of him in that moment. All the feelings for her he'd been fighting…being scared of being with her, being scared of losing her. So he touched her. He touched the blushing white skin of her cheeks, his thumbs padding over them, trying to memorize the feeling of finally feeling her like this. He tugged her close, closer than he'd ever been to this woman who had invaded all of his senses, who had never left his thoughts from the moment she was gone. Not waiting a second longer, he pulled her face to him, confidently touching his lips to hers. He wasn't afraid of hurting her. He wasn't afraid that she wasn't okay with this. He was a man, and he showed her how much he wanted her.

Beth responded in kind, her arms hooking around his neck, desperate to get her body as close to his as possible. She felt his teeth nip at her bottom lip, coaxing her to open her mouth to him, her tongue clashing with his. There was no hesitation. It was electric and insane and she could not get enough. She wanted more.

Pulling back, wanting to get out of the hallway of the house they were staying in on the road, she smiled and grabbed the front of his flannel shirt. "Come on," she said, walking backwards into her room.

Daryl smiled, shaking his head. He followed right after her. He knew he always would.

Talking how the group had begun to splinter

And I can taste your lipstick on the filter

Lushing with the hallway congregation, my best judgment signed its resignation