A/N: So I got to thinking and that's always trouble. I always write Carol and Daryl madly in love (Cause they are), but today I thought about what if they didn't like each other. So here is my take on a little feud they could get into.A very long one shot. Also its AU. That's my thing.
It's rated mature and it's a little graphic.
Just a few song lyrics in bold. Just a few I couldn't resist. Daryl's thoughts are in bold at one point, you'll figure it all out.
Carol did not like her new neighbor.
She had lived in her apartment for three years, since she had moved to Georgia to start a new job.
There was never any problem before. But now there was a big one. A five foot eleven, very loud problem.
The job had started as one of those travel nursing jobs, where they pay a whole bunch of money to a nurse to travel to a state where there's a shortage. Sometimes if they liked you, they would ask you to stay on after your tour was over. You didn't have to, if you had the wanderlust you could just go to the next exotic place if you wanted.
But Carol had been offered a great contract. Great pay and great hours for a young single girl.
So she took the job they offered her.
That was three years ago, now she was staff at Grady Memorial in the Intensive Care Unit night shift.
That wasn't an issue when Mr. Greene lived upstairs above her. Mr. Greene had never made a peep. Mr. Greene was the perfect neighbor.
But he wasn't there anymore. The guy with the work boots that he dropped on the floor every day at four pm was there now.
Mr. Greene went to live with his daughter Maggie Rhee and her husband Glenn five weeks ago and now she had an elephant living above her.
She worked four nights on, three off from 7pm to 7am, and when she came home it was sometimes hard to fall asleep. She had darkening drapes and ear plugs and usually once she fell asleep she could stay asleep. She had to stay asleep, because her shift was a busy one. But sometimes sleep didn't come until noon and she had to be up by six. It was precious time.
When Mr. Greene live there she had no trouble, she slept right through. But now? It wasn't going her way.
It never failed, every morning he would start playing country music, not her favorite genre at all, and stomping around like it was a game of Jumanji up there.
Her iPod didn't even help drown it out.
She got that she couldn't expect people to adhere to her sleep schedule, as any person that worked nights knew, life went on around you.
You were the one who had to adapt. Went without sleep in order to have some kind of life. And that meant you were always tired, and always chasing sleep.
At twenty seven years old Carol felt like all she ever wanted was to just sleep. She was too young to feel this way.
Work boots was not helping this at all. That's what she called him because, even though she knew his name, he was so annoying she didn't want to use it.
Every time she heard him upstairs or saw him she got angry. Why did Mr. Greene have to leave her, they had a good thing going. You don't bother me and I check on you every day for Maggie. It was working until one day Carol found him on the floor he had broken a hip.
He went to live with Maggie and now she had this asshole.
He friends at work knew all about how he woke her up every day like clockwork. They knew that she thought he was around her age and she also thought he was a real prick.
She heard him drop his boots when he took them off every day, she assumed after he got home from work. If it was one of her work nights, it always woke her up.
A few times she went and knocked on his door to ask could he please turn the music down. She knew it was five o'clock somewhere, did he have to play that song all the time?
God, she hated Jimmy Buffet.
So she knocked on his door for the second time this weekend, it was Sunday afternoon and she needed to go to work in three hours.
She stood there in the hallway one floor above her apartment and banged on his door again, because he didn't answer right away.
When he finally threw the door open and leaned against the door jamb she felt her skin get all hot for some messed up reason.
He stood there with his hair dripping wet and hanging in his face in a crazy sexy way and a pair of jeans that hung way lower than they should on his hips. If he was someone different, she might be attracted to him. He was tall with just the right amount of muscle. His hair was dirty blonde and on the long side, just like she liked. He was a working man, with a working man's body. She might have been attracted to him.
But she wasn't because he was a huge pain in her ass.
At first she tried to be understanding, she figured he was moving things and unpacking. But now, he just made way too much noise, and when he had people over it was ridiculous. She heard their footsteps and their talking.
"What do ya want Carol?" He said running a hand through his hair to get it out of his face.
She put her hands on her hips.
"What do I always want? Sleep, your music is obnoxiously loud."
He cocked his head to one side.
"I was in the shower." He said shrugging.
She looked at him shaking her head.
"Come on Daryl, I only have two more hours to sleep."
He looked her over, and he wasn't subtle about it either. She had run up here in her sleep shorts and an old Seaton Hall Nursing T-shirt from her college days. She felt like covering herself up because now he was smiling at her like the big bad wolf would smile at little red riding hood and she didn't like it.
He was a man, of course he looked, he told himself. It didn't mean shit.
"Rules say I can play music up till ten pm." He drawled in that whiskey hot voice some men around here had.
Her friends from New Jersey were always asking about men down there with hot accents. They all wanted to come visit her and find a nice southern gentleman.
They didn't exist, not in this building at least.
"You know I'm trying to sleep, why do you…..?" She huffed, still keeping her hands on her hips.
"I don't know that at all Carol. I don't know your schedule." He said, slowly like her was humoring her. "I don't know your comings and goings."
"I work nights every weekend OK, now you know." She spat out totally losing her patience.
Southerners acted like they had all the time in the world and it just wasn't true, she had shit to do. Like sleeping.
"Every weekend Daryl, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, night shift. I need to sleep." She practically growled.
He nodded. "Well you never told me all those other times. Just said my music was too fuckin loud."
"Well, it is."
She huffed again, wasn't it enough that she had asked him to turn it down? Did she have to tell him her whole life story? Just to get some peace, fucking redneck asshole.
"And I hate Jimmy Buffet." She said and turned on her heel and went down the hall to the stairs.
He watched her go. She was a rude one, a northerner, he had no doubt about that. She had no manners at all.
"It's Actually Allen Jackson." He called after her laughing and he saw her middle finger shoot up between the railings of the steps as she went down.
She was cute, with her wild curly red hair, and full of sass as his Mamma would say. She had come upstairs to bitch him out in her pajamas, right out of her bed likely.
Normally he would get ideas, thinking about a woman in her bed, then knocking on his door. But no, not about her, she was a bitch. A crazy screaming bitch.
He hadn't known about her working nights, she had never said that, he would have turned it down if he knew. He would have been quieter. She didn't need to be rude as fuck about it though.
It kind of made him want to play some Pantera.
/
Merle called her sugar tits. As in 'How's your neighbor sugar tits doing?' To which Daryl always replied, 'Still a bitch on two wheels.'
Merle thought she was cute and did not understand why his brother wasn't tapping that.
Daryl said her personality killed any sexual attraction he might have and Merle thought that was bullshit.
You didn't have to like someone to fuck them. Merle knew that. He had always thought Daryl was adopted or something. He just didn't think like him sometimes. Except Daryl looked just like their mother, so no, he was his brother.
Still no Dixon man would bother with the formality of weather they liked the person. It was a no brainer. You always fucked them, what was wrong with him?
"She is obnoxious as always Merle." He said one Saturday morning and stomped his foot on the floor. "Watch this."
He jumped up on the floor and soon that was met with her banging the broom against the ceiling. She did that every time he made noise, and not just on weekends.
"It's like a war between us. Who can be more annoying?" He said laughing.
"Think you won that round brother." Merle said shaking his head. "You need to get out more, truly. There's more to life than annoying your pretty neighbor that you aren't banging."
They walked out onto the small balcony to have a smoke and both lit up leaning over the rail. Watching the people go about their day. They were going out for a couple of drinks on a Saturday afternoon and to watch baseball. They grew up watching baseball, it was in their blood. Daryl even played in high school.
They noticed a small red sports car pulling in the parking lot. Not usual for this neighborhood. It parked and they watched a dark haired man getting out and walking towards the building.
"Hmm what do we have here, don't see cars like that in this neighborhood." Merle said. "Drug dealer?"
"That's her boyfriend or something, comes every Saturday, takes her out for three hours or so and walks her to the door. Goes home." Daryl said. "Fuckin weirdos."
Merle looked at him and took drag of his cigarette. Now this was interesting, time to poke the snake, Merle said to himself.
"You sure are keeping tabs on a girl you don't even like brother." Merle observed.
Daryl immediately dismissed him.
"She aint my concern, at all." Daryl said.
"Whatever, we goin or not." He said flicking his cigarette off the balcony. "I need a beer."
Merle nodded to him. "Yeah we goin."
Then he heard her voice coming up from below him, like a harpy. Like a sea hag calling to a sailor.
"Daryl! Tyreese is going to kick your ass, there's about fifty butts down here and it's gross. He is not going to be happy and I hope I'm there to see it." She yelled.
"Mind your business Carol, go take a nap."
He called over the railing with an edge to his voice. He did not like her, he would be happy to never talk to her. But she had a big mouth and always had something to say.
"Get bent." She yelled back up to him.
Merle let out a cackling laugh when he heard that. That girl gave as good as she got.
"That's a spunky one, bet she's a fucking lunatic in the sack." Merle said."They say those northern girls…"
"Can it Merle." Daryl said. "I wouldn't touch her with your dick."
/
Tuesday night and it was eight pm, Carol was off. She sat on her couch with a book that had nothing to do with work and a cup of lemon zinger tea. She had her glasses on, happy to have her contacts out. Happy to relax in the pajama's and read for the night.
Mark had ended things with her last night and she was grateful. She had wanted to do it for a while, there was no spark. They would remain friends, they had too, they worked together. He was a Doctor in the ER at Grady. There just wasn't anything there.
She wasn't upset, she just wanted her alone time anyway.
She was playing music, on her iPod, low, because she wasn't a heathen like her upstairs neighbor.
I'm the man in the box, buried in my shit.
That was her style of music, she had a whole night planned with Alice in Chains, Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction. Fuck him and Jimmy Buffet.
She hadn't seen him since the weekend, but she was sure he was around. Because she could hear him, of course, walking around up there. I seemed he never went out, unless it was with his creep brother. No, he just stayed home and walked the floors.
What a jerk.
Carol was re-reading a favorite book of hers. 'Different Seasons' by Stephen King. She just got to the best story 'Rita Haworth and The Shawshank Redemption' when she heard the usual noise. Then a string of curses that made her blush.
He was not going to ruin her night, she looked forward to this all week. This was her time, no patients to worry about, nothing but her and Stephen King.
Pajamas and her favorite book, he was not ruining this night for her. She slammed the book down on the couch and went to get her broom.
/
Daryl had been cooking dinner. Biscuits and gravy after working all day was going to be perfect. Then to watch the baseball game on TV and fall asleep halfway through it probably. A perfect night in his opinion. He had changed out of his work cloths and already showered, so as soon as he ate he could hit the couch. He just wore jeans, he hadn't bothered even putting a shirt on, and he was barefoot.
He forgot that the cast iron pan needed to be picked up with a pot holder. A really asshole move on his part. He was moving it to the sink to wash and in one instant he knew what he had done.
He burned his hand and when he let go in a rush he dropped the pan on his foot. He let out a scream that he was sure Merle would hear clear across town. His fucking foot hurt like a motherfucker. He let out a string of curses that was probably illegal in this state, probably a lot of states.
He staggered around the kitchen trying to walk it off. Running cold water on his hand to soothe it. The skin wasn't blistering, that was a good sign. He got some ice out of the freezer for his hand and foot.
He finally sat down at the table.
Then he heard her banging on the ceiling, his floor, with that fucking broom.
Oh Hell No.
He grabbed his keys.
/
With his burnt hand and his fucked up foot he hobbled out his door and down the stairs. This time he wasn't going to be a nice guy. He knew she wasn't working, it was a week night, and there was no reason to be such an asshole tonight.
His Mamma always told him to be nice to women. But this one? He didn't think he could pull it off.
He stomped down the stairs, which wasn't easy with his foot throbbing like a sonovabitch and over to her door.
He banged his fist on the door and before she even opened the door she was yelling.
"What? What do you want?"
She threw open the door and there he stood in pants that were falling off him and no shirt. She looked at him for a beat.
He had a really flat stomach and really blue eyes that she hadn't noticed before.
"Why are you banging on my floor tonight, you aint gotta sleep its fucking Tuesday."
He yelled, but he was also acutely aware that she was in those sleep shorts and t-shirt again, her hair piled on her head in a bun and she wore glasses.
He hadn't noticed that before. She must have had contacts in. There was something about a girl in glasses.
But she was yelling again, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Because you're a noisy fuck and I'm sick of it." She yelled back at him. "Sick of it Daryl."
"I see you got your music on, what makes you so special, huh?" He barked at her.
She was listening to 'Mountain Song' by Jane's Addiction. Well, that explained a lot he thought as he cocked his head waiting for her to answer. She had terrible taste in music obviously.
"It's before ten." She said with a smile in her voice that said fuck you. "And you're so loud up there I know you aren't asleep, why are you such an asshole." She raised her voice up.
"Why are you!?" He yelled.
She was losing her breath now and had to take a minute to collect herself, she was so pissed off. She never met a more exasperating person in her life. She met all kinds at work, but this guy, he was in a class all by himself.
He looked at her, his toe forgotten, it had stopped hurting so much. She was breathing hard and fast because she was mad and it was so sexy.
Oh shit, he thought to himself.
He was looking at her lips now, he never noticed her lips before. How full and round they were.
Probably because she was always running her mouth.
All he wanted to do right now was kiss her. She knew it too, she was opening her mouth to say something and she stopped. She knew.
She was looking at him now too, only her eyes were going all over him. Then she reached his face, not looking away, then she bit her lower lip.
Jesus, he gulped.
Something was swirling in the air between them. The music was running through his brain, making his thoughts all jumbled up.
Cash in! Cash in now honey, cash in now. Cash in now baby. Oh oh oh oh ohhhhhhh
He didn't know who did it first but both their feet were moving and they came together in the hardest most desperate kiss either of them ever had. Their bodies slammed together holding on so tight.
She decided not to think about this at all.
Then she was pulling him across the threshold of her apartment like his ass was on fire and slamming the door. And before she knew it he had her up against the wall plundering her lips with his mouth again. She let out a moan as his hand snaked up her belly and over her breast.
She wasn't wearing a bra, and he let out a groan when his fingers swiped over her. Then he brought his mouth down her neck.
"Tell me to stop." He said.
She shook her head. She wanted this, oh god she wanted this. She didn't even like him but she wanted him.
"Don't talk, you'll ruin It." she said.
Permission granted, she was waving him home. Alright then.
A woman that didn't want him to talk. He might just fall in love right this minute. No talking, he could live with that very nicely.
What he was doing to her was making her go crazy. His hands were everywhere, she was wrapped around him and she could feel him hard as a rock. Her body was aching for him, her blood pounding in her ears.
How could this be? They had just been yelling at each other.
She would think on that later, right now he was sucking her nipple through her shirt and she was losing her mind.
He pushed her shirt up over her head and dropped it on the floor, bringing his lips right back there again.
Merle was right, you didn't have to like someone to fuck them, given the right circumstances of course.
He grabbed a hold of her thighs and pulled her up and she wrapped her legs around him. He pushed against her and her back was against the wall now.
He moved and adjusted them against the wall, and he could feel her against him, hot and ready.
He felt like he was drunk. She was rubbing up against him and he swore he had never been so turned on in his life.
She was trying to get her hands on his jeans but she couldn't reach. She settled for his hair and buried her hands in it to pull him up to kiss her.
She was a hair puller and he almost came right there.
She was still trying to get to his pants when he slid her down from the wall against his body in such a delicious way.
She grabbed him by the belt loop and pulled him towards the couch, along the way taking off her shorts. Pushing the book on the floor.
She laid down on the couch and watched him unbuckle his pants hearing the clank of it along with his keys as they hit the floor. Then he was next to her, kissing her hot and dirty.
He looked into her eyes, sinking into her in one stroke. She let out something like a gasp and pulled him closer. Her hands gripping his arms, hanging on.
"Holy fuck Carol…" He said in between breaths he was now choking out in rhythm with his hips. She felt so good, of course she did. She was hot and completely giving herself over to him.
"Holy fuck is right…" She said her head hitting against the cushion lightly every time he moved. He held her legs up holding around her thighs keeping her legs apart each time he pushed inside her. Deeper and deeper hearing little moans come from her lips each time.
She was all around him now. The feel of her and the smell of her was driving him over the edge fast. They were racing towards it without even knowing how they got there.
They didn't even like each other, and he was slamming into her like he should at least like her.
Maybe that's what made it so good. Because it was good.
They were both lost to it.
"Want you to come, Carol." He whispered in her ear. "Now."
He licked her ear and said it again. "Now."
She arched her back and made a low groaning sound in the back of her throat.
He slowed down and moved his hips in a circle now, dipping his head back down to lick her breast. He ran his tongue over her nipple once, twice, three times then sucked hard.
He felt her grip tighten on his arms and she let out a scream like he couldn't believe.
Then he felt it, she was coming all over his dick and he lost it, totally lost it.
Everything went white behind his eyes as he came screaming every profanity in his vocabulary and collapsed on top of her in a hot sweaty mess.
They laid there for a few minutes a mass of tangled limbs.
Then she lifted her head up and looked at him.
"Now will you turn down that godawful music?"