An obnoxiously loud vibrating noise caused Daryl to awaken with a miserable groan. He scowled at the red numbers on his alarm clock that read 8:23. Who the hell was calling him at such an ungodly hour? He turned his attention down to the useless piece of technology, ready to tell whoever it was to fuck off. That was, until he saw just exactly who was calling him.
The boy scrambled to reach his phone and opened it quickly.
"Why if it ain't Rick Grimes," he drawled out. "What's up, darlin'?" He could practically see the other boy's cheeks turning a bright pink. The first time Daryl had called the other boy by the nickname, it had been an honest accident. He had felt incredibly stupid and wanted to slap himself, until he saw Rick's very flustered face and the way he shuffled his feet. Let's just say Daryl very much enjoyed being the cause of his friend's blushing and promised himself to keep calling him names every chance he could get.
Alright, so Daryl had a bit of a crush on his friend, no big deal. It's not as if Rick felt the same anyway, with that Lori girl all up in his space.
"H-Hi, Daryl. I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to come to the beach today," the boy on the other end of the line faltered.
Daryl immediately perked up with interest. Just him and Rick alone.
"With Shane, Maggie, Glenn, and Lori, of course," he continued, interrupting the older teen's thoughts.
Crap. He should've expected that he wouldn't have Rick all to himself. Glenn and Maggie were nice enough, but Shane and Lori? The two really got on his nerves, to say the least. Unfortunately, he knew it was inevitable that Rick and Lori would eventually hook up.
Shaking his head to clear it, he decided not to pass up an opportunity to see his friend. Half naked, might he add.
"Yeah, sure. Maybe we oughta bury Shane in the sand an' 'accidentally forget abou' him'," he suggested with a smirk. Rick couldn't help but laugh softly.
"I'll pick you up in an hour. Don't you dare make me wait up for you because you can't get out of bed," he threatened jokingly.
"Wouldn't dream of it, darlin'." With a click, Daryl reluctantly rolled out of the comfortable bed and set off to take a shower.
It must've been Daryl's lucky day. His father was still asleep and Merle was nowhere to be found. Grinning, he slipped on a random t-shirt and quickly packed his bag for the day ahead.
Just as he was slipping on some shoes, he heard a familiar honking noise from the driveway. He couldn't fight back the smile that crept onto his face. Grabbing his bag and sprinting down the stairs, he didn't even bother to leave a note for his family.
He closed the door behind him gently and strolled towards Rick's car. To his absolute delight, nobody else occupied the space in the car besides the other boy.
Clambering into the passenger seat eagerly, he dumped his bag on the floor unceremoniously. Daryl turned to his friend who met him with a smile.
Rick Grimes was a massive dork. There was no doubt about that. He was a pretty attractive dork, though, if Daryl had anything to say about the matter. His dark wavy hair looked silky smooth and he ached to card his fingers through the flawless strands. Rick's ice blue eyes were always kind and his lips were plump, not to mention a beautiful shade of pink. He was dressed in a faded gray shirt with a black swimming suit and sandals.
Motioning towards the back of the vehicle Daryl asked, "Where's the rest of the crew?" He obviously didn't want to know, or even care. As long as they weren't there.
"Shane and Lori are riding together. Same with Maggie and Glenn. We're gonna meet 'em there," Rick responded, eyes on the road as they set off.
Daryl just nodded contently and attempted to busy himself with looking out the window. That didn't last too long, however, not when the object of his affections was sitting right next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Rick, hoping that he wouldn't notice.
The younger teen was tapping his fingers rhythmically to the beat of the song currently on the radio, one that Daryl didn't know. As they drove along in silence, he continued to stare at Rick, shifting his body a bit to get a better view. The boy was always so carefree and happy, and Daryl had to admit that his mood was contagious.
While the next song started up, Rick glanced at his friend for a moment, not expecting to meet a pair of eyes staring intently back at him. Daryl's breath hitched as he turned his head the other way, a bit of a burning sensation tingling in his cheeks. It seemed he wasn't the only one a shade pinker. He smirked, trying hard to keep his eyes off of the other boy for the rest of the ride. He wasn't very successful.
