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The List

Chapter 1 – Kites

"You really ain't gonna let me see it?" Daryl asked as his rickety old pickup truck bounced over a hill on the sleepy country road.

"It's just something I'm writing," Carol replied softly as she stretched back in her seat with her bare feet propped up on the dashboard.

"Lemme hear it," he offered. "C'mon, I'm your best friend."

"Oh, don't play the best friend card," she groaned as her curly brown hair whipped in the wind. She sighed when Daryl slowed the truck to a stop and put it in park. "Daryl?"

"What's goin' on with you?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"You been…off lately? Nervous 'bout graduation?"

"No," Carol said quietly. "It's not that. It's…look, school's almost over, and we're going to…well, we aren't going to see a lot of each other anymore. You're my best friend, and I'm going to miss you. But I'm…I'm worried about you."

"Why?" he asked with a frown, furrowing his brows.

"Well, because…" She looked away. "Because…who's going to take care of you?"

"Pfft. I can take care'a myself. Might have to find myself a woman who knows how to cook though, 'cause I sure can't cook for shit." Carol grinned at that. "Don't worry. Your cookies are always gonna be my favorite though."

"Oh, thanks," she grinned.

"I saw 'kites.'"

"Huh?"

"On your paper. That why you brought the kite?"

"Uh-huh. It's a list."

"What kinda list?"

"A list of things I want to do…you know…before graduation."

"So…kid stuff?"

"Some kid stuff. Some things I've never done. Things I've always wanted to do."

"Oh yeah?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "How many firsts we talkin' 'bout here?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Dixon. What makes you think I haven't already done that?"

"Done what?" he teased. Carol rolled her eyes, and Daryl wiped the smirk off of his face. "So…you never flew a kite?"

"Never. Not once," she insisted with a smirk. "Don't tell me you and Merle did."

"Fuck no," Daryl snorted. "I always wanted to, but Merle called me a sissy, and that was the end of it."

"Well, I don't think you're a sissy." She looked around at the open field they were parked by, and she smiled. "This place is as good as any, don't you think?" Daryl nodded and cut the engine. Together, they climbed out of the truck and Daryl helped her haul the butterfly kite out and get the string unraveled.

"Why's this first on your list?" he wondered, as they clomped through the soft soil of the freshly harvested field. Tufts of sprouts sprinkled the ground here and there from where fresh seed had taken root.

"Because," she said softly, stopping just ahead of him, "I want to remind myself that it's ok to have fun, to be silly, to not be so serious all the time." She smiled a little when Daryl put his hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun.

"Well, what's next on your list?" Daryl asked, cocking his head to the side.

"You really want to know?"

"Sure I do."

"Why?"

"Maybe I wanna help you with it. I'm your best friend, after all. Guess it's kinda my job, right?" Carol smiled a little sadly then. "Since you're the one goin' away soon, we best get as much time in 'til then as we can, right?"

"Right," Carol said quietly, as tears glittered in her eyes.

"There ya go again. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said softly. "I'll just miss you." With that, she put on a smile and nodded toward the kite. "Now help me fly this thing, will you?" She took off running, and Daryl watched after her, not certain what to make of her until she started to laugh. Before long, she had that kite soaring through the air, and at eighteen years old, Daryl Dixon found himself chasing after a kite string with his best friend, the only girl he ever loved in his whole life. His Carol.