She was a rising star, America's newest sweetheart: a cute farm girl thrown into the spotlight, into the viciousness of the press and the paparazzi and all the judgment that came with the job. She sang and played the guitar, even wrote her own music and settled for nothing less of that, which was rare nowadays. He admitted it was impressive, but wouldn't say that out loud to anyone. He saw her on the cover of a couple magazines when in line at the grocery store a few times but didn't pay more than a few second long glance to the photo.
He didn't have the time to be staring at pretty girls on covers of magazines when he had real life shit to take care of.
Truth be told, life was pretty damn boring for Daryl, and he actually liked it that way. A calmer life was a better one to him, no trouble, or at least that was what he thought.
Life was normal for him.
And then something unpredictable happened one night, something Daryl never would have expected. It was actually something that changed his life entirely, but that was something he would not know until it had already happened and it was months later. But that one night, one simple night that was like any other up until one point, changed his life, changed him, changed everything.
And it was all because of one person.
There was next to no one in the diner that he was in, the way Daryl preferred it to be that Friday night. It was not that he didn't like people, it was just that crowds of them made him feel uncomfortable, always had, like he was suffocating and didn't know how to make it stop. He preferred the quiet, the ability to listen to no one else except what was in his own head. But then again, sometimes being in his own head was not the best place to be.
Daryl had been in the diner for a while minding his own business. He wasn't one to look around and check out the scenery, but that time, for some reason, he looked up and noticed a girl twirling in her seat at the counter, clearly enjoying herself, and he guessed she was the one who had walked in a few minutes ago when the bell on the door rang to alert that there was a customer.
Normally, he would have glanced away by that point. But the thing that caught his eye was that she was wearing an elegant turquoise-looking dress that went to the floor, with some white beading, which Daryl found to be odd since it was the beginning of January and it was too cold for anyone to wear something like that, no matter how nice it looked. Another thing he noticed was that her white heels rested on the floor, uncared for and unappreciated. Daryl never understood how anyone could walk in those things. They looked scary enough. And it seemed really painful to begin with and no woman seemed to be able to walk in them properly when they were that high of heel anyways, so why bother?
He caught himself being sidetracked by the heels. It happened often. Daryl's mind liked to wander about.
He had gotten so lost in thought that he hadn't realized that the young woman in the turquoise dress had stopped twirling in the chair and was staring back at him from across the diner. It jolted Daryl. He knew he shouldn't have been looking at her in the first place. He quickly turned his head so he could completely avert his eyes away. He felt awkward after that, having been caught and currently sitting in shame as he waited for his order to get to the table so he could eat and get the hell out of that place.
He was in one of those diner booths, the classic diner seating, so Daryl opted to stare out the window and into the Atlanta street filled with a number of passing yellow taxis and other various cars. Atlanta was busy this time of night and normally he wouldn't have ventured out but Daryl felt like he needed to get some air after a verbal fight with his dumbass brother.
It wasn't until his food was delivered and in front of him that he unconsciously glanced over at the blonde girl again, almost cursing at himself for daring to steal another look. Luckily for him, she was talking to one of the waitresses and paid no attention to Daryl's lack of ability to keep his eyes were they should be.
He was actually wasn't that hungry once the food was in front of him, ready for the taking. It had lost the appeal. Daryl picked around, reminding of himself of how his mother had always said not play with the meal he had been given.
He sighed, not wanting to remember anything about his childhood, but then noticed some movement out of the corner of his eyes after taking a bite of the burger. He was almost afraid to move his gaze, but he did anyways. The blonde was making her way over to him at a quick pace, forcing Daryl to wipe his mouth on his sleeve before she made it all the way over to him.
"Hello," said the woman, directly in front of his table, her dress swaying as she stopped to greet him. She still was not wearing any shoes, the heels carelessly dangling at her side, and Daryl almost laughed about it. He liked that.
Daryl stared at her for a moment, wondering if he was hallucinating that she was talking to him. Two blinks and then he replied with the ever intelligent, "Um, hi."
She stayed in her place for a moment, teetering back and forth on the heels of her feet before planting them firmly onto the ground. "Can I sit down?"
Daryl was taken aback by the request. His brain searched for some words but ended up with nothing so he decided to motion to the seat across from him instead of sitting there like an idiot staring at the woman.
"Thanks," she smiled sweetly, and took up the place across from him. "I'm Beth, by the way."
She seemed somewhat familiar to him but he ignored the sense, telling himself that he was crazy. He knew there was no way he would have meet this girl and then forgotten her. He would have remembered a face like Beth's.
"Daryl," he mumbled in reply. He scratched the back of his head momentarily, glancing around the place to make sure that she was not playing a joke on him or something like that. "So, do you need somethin'?"
She shook her head, placing her solid white heels onto the seat cushion next to her. "No. I don't really need anything other than some company. Is that okay with you? I've had a long night of talking to people I don't really like."
He nodded to agree. Even though he was slightly nervous, he didn't feel uncomfortable, which was a shock to him. Strangers always made him feel uncomfortable. But not this one. No, this girl he felt moderately okay around.
Needless to say, Daryl was intrigued. And that was something that rarely happened.
They sat there in silence for a minute, which seemed like an hour to him. Daryl watched as Beth gazed out the window, seemingly looking for someone. It got him a little bit worried, and it caused him to stupidly not think before he spoke. "Boyfriend out there lookin' for ya or somethin'?"
He regretted asking that question the second the words came out. First off all, it was none of his business. And also, he knew he shouldn't seem so interested in her love life. The last thing he needed was her thinking that he was hitting onto her. That would surely be a disaster.
To his surprise though, Beth turned her attention back to him and softly giggled. "No. There actually is no boyfriend. My life is too busy right now for a relationship, or at least that's what I tell people so I don't seem too weird."
He was surprised again. A girl like her and Daryl would have thought that there would be multiple marriage proposals lined up by now, guys willing to do whatever it took to win her heart. Only then did he really look at her. Soft and trusting blue eyes that were fitted with some black mascara and eyeliner, a bright smile, porcelain skin, and blonde hair that was curled and put up into a neat ponytail. She was a knockout, ten out of ten. That was when Daryl felt out of place sitting across from her, like he didn't belong.
Daryl shifted around a bit and took another bite of his dinner, seeing it as an excuse to not have to talk. The waitress came over and placed Beth's food in front of her that she had ordered earlier over at the counter. Daryl's chewing came to a slow when he saw the quantity of it all. A chocolate milkshake, five blueberry pancakes with whipped cream, toast, and two side orders of fries. He stared in awe as she dug into the food right away. He didn't think all that food could fit into such a tiny body.
Beth noticed eventually, smiling and wiping her mouth with her napkin. "What? Is there food on my face?"
"No," Daryl said stupidly, jerking himself out of the stare he had been in. The smart thing would have been to have used that as an excuse as to why he had been staring so blatantly at her, but it was too late and Daryl had already refused that as an answer. The thought fast and chose to change the subject. "It's nothin'. Hey, how come you wearin' that dress? This ain't no fancy place."
That was good—an easy way to divert the conversation away from how Daryl's eyes had been on Beth for too long. Much too long.
She shrugged nonchalantly and took another french fry from her plate, popping it into her mouth. "I was at this lame event where I had to smile too much and stand in heels all evening. It was boring and all they would give me was a plain garden salad." Beth threw her hands out to dramatically show off her plates of food. "Hence why I'm here."
"The food ain't that great," Daryl pointed out, acquiring a glare from the waitress who glided past them quickly. Whatever, she probably knew it was true too.
Beth smiled and then stole a fry off of his own plate, as if she didn't have enough of her own already. "It's good enough to me. I've barely eaten all day. Oh the perks of being forced into a fancy dress at night…means nothing but water and a piece of fruit until I sit down for dinner with the oh-so-exciting garden salad. It's bullshit, by the way. I'm not a fan of being starved to fit in some dumb dress."
Daryl doubted she ever had any trouble fitting into anything. She was practically a model with her slim figure. He was even about to compliment her on the dress too, but bit his tongue. That would be going too far.
Beth grabbed the small container of raspberry jelly that came with her plate, pushing the less favorable ones away with a frown, and smeared it onto her toast before taking a bite, mentioning how she only ever ate the raspberry kind. He found it interesting because Daryl only liked raspberry jelly too.
Weird coincidence.
"You know, I think this is the first time today that I can actually hear myself think." Beth made a gesture towards her head, half-eaten toast still in hand. "People have been talkin' at me all day, making decisions for me. There is a ringing in my ear. No lie."
"Sounds intense," Daryl remarked.
Beth set down her elbow onto the table and rested her head onto it. "I'm exhausted, running on empty over here. Excuse me as I stuff my face with food. I know it's not very lady-like. I'm sure I look like a mess."
He smiled to himself, picking his burger up again. He shrugged a shoulder and mentioned, "It ain't like you gotta impress anyone around here. Feel free to stuff your face all you want."
Beth returned a smile, then it faded as her eyes trailed over to the window. "Uh oh," Beth suddenly gasped, and then swiftly slid under the table, gone from his sight.
He wasn't sure what was going on at first. And yes, he noticed the curious and alarmed eyes of the waitress who had followed the motions of Beth throwing herself underneath the table, probably thinking that Beth was going to be doing something not very innocent to him from underneath. Daryl's cheeks went red as he looked away, embarrassed, and hoping Beth would return to her spot.
"Is she still there?" asked Beth's voice from below.
He looked around, not knowing who she was referring to. "Who?"
"The woman outside. Brown hair, tall, and in a red dress," she explained hastily. "Is she coming this way?"
Daryl peered out the window and saw the description of the person Beth had described walking in the opposite direction. "She's going away now."
A sigh of relief came from Beth and she climbed back to her spot, thankfully. "That was my sister," she explained, rolling her eyes. "She's been lookin' for me ever since I left the event early. She's probably pissed she can't find me."
"Left early?" he questioned, instantly aware of how his own curiosity was controlling him. Daryl usually never asked questions.
Beth poured some maple syrup onto her pancakes, drenching them in sugar. "More like ran away," she lightly laughed. "I'm having a much better time here now though, so I'm glad that I did."
She looked up at him for a brief second and flashed a smile before she returned to eating. It settled in with him. A part of him thought that maybe she had flirted with him, but Daryl passed it off as him being overly analyzing things.
Beth shoveled in a few more bites and downed half of her milkshake. "I have to go now before it gets too late," she declared regretfully, looked around, and then closed her eyes with a deep sigh. "Damn. Maggie had my purse with my cash."
"Don't worry about it," he brushed it off. "I got it."
"What? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. Dinner's on me."
Beth smiled genuinely and it made Daryl feel good. "That's really nice of you. Thanks," Beth whispered. She got out of the booth and took two steps away and then spun back around. "And thank you for everything else."
He was confused. "Everything else?"
"For treating me like a normal person," she whispered, blue eyes seeming to twinkle at him. "I don't get that very often anymore. So thank you, Daryl. I appreciated the break from everything. Believe me, I needed it."
He didn't know what she meant by it, but in that moment he didn't pay much attention to her words. He watched her leave as she turned around on her heels, ponytail bouncing as she walked across the diner and opened the door, the bell above ringing as she stepped out into the cold night. He stood there kind of stunned for a few more moments, unaware of anything else as he watched as the blonde hair sway in the wind crossing the street and back to the hotel across the way.
A/N: Alright, folks, let me know what you think. I quite like this idea for a story but I'm wondering if you do to! See you soon!