Caged Bird

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The gymnasium locker room smelled of perfume, hairspray, and musty socks.

In short, it reeked, and the noxious mix of odors made Carol's nose wrinkle and the kaleidoscope of butterflies in her belly beat fiercely and insistently against the protective cradle of her ribs. A delicate cough tickled its way past her gloss-smudged lips, but it was quickly absorbed into the din of excitement swirling around the claustrophobic space.

Her fellow classmates were joyous, unhindered and unfazed by the magnitude of the day.

But, heartbeat by pounding heartbeat, Carol felt her own forced calm start to disintegrate. The damp fingers of panic slithered slyly across the exposed nape of her neck. Her traitorous lungs threatened to cease functioning, struggling in their movements as if pulling and dragging through a sentient sludge. She searched furtively for an escape route, finally finding one.

The bathroom was better but not by much, a retreat of last resort.

Gripping the sink with sweaty palms, Carol dragged in a deep, relaxing breath and focused on her reflection in the grimy mirror. The faint constellation of freckles sprinkled across her cheeks and nose, the cascade of crazy curls coiling into absolute uncooperativeness atop her head and threatening collapse in the choking humidity, and the teary blue turbulence of her eyes mocked her childish attempts at playing grown up. She hardly felt like a girl ready to take on the world, and it showed. Everybody would be able to see, and she closed her eyes against the inevitable pain of disappointing them all. Thanks to a couple of old friends, though, her wallowing didn't last long.

Lori tore into Carol's sanctuary, an apparitional gazelle in red high heels, her palms slapping into the door of the first bathroom stall she reached and slamming it open. Falling to her knees in a graceless heap of royal satin, she barely had time to gather her hair in her shaking fist before she was retching.

Playing her role of the ever pursuant lioness, Andrea sauntered into the room seconds later with her claws only partially retracted. "Don't tell me you and that bow-legged boy scout of yours got blitzed the night before graduation. Way to make Daddy proud."

Lori's hand abruptly left her hair to clutch desperately at the toilet, her fingers bone-white against the porcelain and tears squeezing from the corners of her eyes as she gagged and moaned.

Andrea turned from the scene with only the barest flickers of concern in her gaze, taking notice of Carol's presence for the first time. She folded her arms across her chest with a frown. "I didn't see you standing there."

"I know you didn't," Carol murmured, her soft voice laced with the bittersweet tinge of disappointment. Pushing her own worries aside, she crossed the room and nudged her way into the crowded stall with Lori, sweeping the waves of her long hair into a loose knot behind her back as her stomach continued to rebel against her. The brunette was alarmingly pale, her skin clammy and cool beneath Carol's comforting fingers. "Do you want me to get your mom?"

With the barest shake of her head, Lori disabused her of that notion. "She sent Andrea."

Carol spared a glance over her shoulder, meeting Andrea's defiant stare. Old habits really did die hard; eight years later and it seemed Lori's mom was still trying to repair a friendship fractured beyond recognition.

"She looked like fucking Casper. Still does."

"Just go, Andrea," Lori pleaded miserably. She stood, leaning unconsciously into the support Carol offered. "I'm fine. Tell her it's just nerves, that's all. Nerves and the heat."

Andrea looked unconvinced, stubbornly rooted to the spot until the bathroom door opened again and Michonne stuck her head inside, her expressive dark eyes quickly taking in the tension filled scene.

"Everything okay in here?"

Every bit as obstinate as Andrea, Lori lifted her chin. "Everything's fine."

Andrea looked at Lori long and hard, studied her, before muttering her own reply and moving toward Michonne and the bathroom's exit with an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders. "Just peachy. Ra Ra Barbie just doesn't know how to handle her wine coolers." Unable to resist one last parting shot before she brushed past Michonne, she turned and smiled sweetly at the pair of them, too sweetly. "Enjoy your hangover. Carol…good luck on your speech."

Michonne didn't linger much longer, giving them a heads up before disappearing in a rustle of shiny neat dreadlocks. "Five more minutes 'til we line up."

When it was just the two of them again, Lori's shoulders sagged as she moved to the sink to wash her hands. "I don't think five minutes is enough. I look like a zombie."

"I don't think zombies wear mascara. Or look like one of the members of KISS," Carol quipped, her lips twitching when Lori got her first glimpse of the raccoon rings shadowing her eyes and promptly sprayed the mirror and the tiled wall bracketing it with the water she'd been gargling. "God, I'm sorry." She laughed. "I didn't really mean to say that out loud. Really. Lori? Please say something. Ed's always telling me I should think before I speak." Great, Carol thought to herself. How many years will it be this time before she speaks to me? "Lori?" she prompted again. "Aren't you going to say something?" This time her old friend didn't disappoint, erupting into a flurry of words and exaggerated hand motions.

"I can't go out there looking like this!"

Usual disclaimer applies. I don't own them, and I'm not making any profit from any of these ramblings of my brain, haha.

In case you haven't already figured it out, this story is AU and it will involve baby Caryl (fumbling, bumbling teen Caryl, more specifically, lol).

Title for the story from the song of the same name performed by Aubrey Peeples of the television show Nashville. I just felt like it applied not only to Carol and Daryl in this story, but many of the others. ;)

Nothing much to warn for yet but language. Other warnings will apply later, and the rating will change to reflect that. I'll give you fair warning.

Chapters of this story will slowly find their way over here, but until they do, you can find the newest ones on 9L or my tumblr (finally made the leap and gone a little crazy on there, lol). Hopefully, the newest chapters of my other stories if I ever get out of this dreadful hiatus slump I'm currently drowning in. I'm shimmershae.

That's it.

Thanks so much for reading!

Feedback is love.