CHAPTER 1: What changed your mind?

"What changed your mind?" Beth asked, her eyes burning into Daryl. He couldn't think straight, and he knew if he spoke, he would most likely say the wrong thing. He found himself meeting Beth's eyes with his own, thousands of unknown feelings rushing through his mind. They stayed like this, eyes locked in total silence, when a small voice finally escaped Beth's lips.

"Oh."

Her stare made Daryl profoundly uneasy. His heart was throbbing in his chest and his stomach was making twists and turns that it had never made before. He felt immensely nervous, and he didn't even know why.

After a few moments, he looked down at his feet and cleared his throat, hoping to rid himself of this strange energy attaching him to her.
"You should rest," he told her. "S'been a long day." Beth agreed, and they sat in silence a few moments longer.

She eventually stood up and limped to the door, her ankle throbbing. She turned around to tell Daryl goodnight, but he was suddenly close behind her. She hadn't even heard him get up.
"Let me," he mumbled. He let out a harsh breath and, before she could protest, he was carrying her again, bridal style. She let out a small giggle, but they never made eye contact. They'd had enough for the evening, he thought. "And who said chivalry was dead?" Beth teased.

Daryl made his way up the stairs, quietly grunting under the weight of Beth. She really was heavier than she looked, he thought to himself. He walked her into one of the upstairs bedrooms and laid her down on the bed, careful not to hurt her ankle.
"Alright," he mumbled, rubbing his palms together and nodding to Beth before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. He lingered outside her room for a while, unable to leave, unable to detach the vibrant energy flowing between them. He nibbled on his thumb nail, pondering about what to do next. He had no idea why he was even questioning himself. Just fucking leave, she don't want you here, he told himself.

On the other side of the door, Beth was laid in the bed, her skin still slightly tingling from Daryl's touch. She wished she could say something to him, be brave, show a little enthusiasm perhaps. But instead she just lay there, like she did every night, until sleep took her consciousness away.

Daryl was laid in the casket downstairs, his thoughts taking over his mind and ability to sleep. He wanted to think of an excuse to go back into Beth's room, but he had no idea why.
"What the fuck Dixon, she's just a girl," he whispered to himself. But still, he found himself climbing out of the casket and making his way to Beth's room. He knocked. What the fuck am I doing? When there was no answer, he presumed Beth was asleep, and he made this his excuse to turn around and leave. He began to move when he heard the door in front of him open, presenting a young, sleepy, only-wearing-a-top-and-little-grey-panties Beth Greene. Daryl's heart doubled in speed.

"Hey," Beth muttered, rubbing her eyes. "What's up?" Daryl quickly averted his eyes and shuffled his feet.
"I uh.. I thought maybe we could go on a supply run tomorrow. Thought you should know." This is fucking stupid, he thought, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Okay." Beth yawned; her voice soft. It somehow managed to send a small chill down Daryl's spine.

A few moments of silent passed and the two were still stood in front of each other.
"Was that all?" Beth asked, her eyes never leaving Daryl's face. No. That wasn't all. I want to join you in that bed and-
"Mhmm," Daryl grumbled, stopping his thoughts. Be fucking careful, Dixon. She don't want you. I don't want her. Beth smiled and shut the door slowly, and went back to sleep, smiling.

He returned to his casket, fully regretting what he had just done. He had just stared at an almost naked Beth Greene. Beth fucking Greene. He found the image circling around in his head, and he had to dismiss it quickly before he woke her up again, for an entirely different reason this time. He turned over, and finally, fucking finally, found himself drifting into sleep.

…

Morning came, and Beth and Daryl prepared for the supply run. They barely spoke a word to each other, but Daryl occasionally found himself looking at Beth, and Beth found herself doing the same.

Beth only barely remembered what had happened the night before. She knew that Daryl had seen her in hardly any clothes, and she kind of felt okay with it all. They'd been stuck together for a while now, and they were probably going to be stuck together for a lot longer, so it was bound to happen sooner or later. She was dying to know what Daryl was thinking, but she didn't have the guts to ask.

They left through the only entrance to the house and began walking to the local store they saw on their way in. It wasn't too far, a couple of miles perhaps, but it felt a lot longer with the silence growing between them.

"Did'ya sleep okay?" Beth finally asked.
"'Spose. You?"Daryl replied, glancing up at Beth. She nodded.

Truthfully, he hadn't slept well at all: he had dreamt of Beth's milky white legs wrapped around his neck and had woken up with the biggest hard-on possible. But he wouldn't tell her that.

"Sorry I woke 'ya las' night, didn't mean to disturb 'ya," Daryl apologised. He looked down at his feet as they walked, feeling embarrassed. Beth giggled.
"It's fine. You didn't see nothin' you ain't seen before." Daryl just grunted.

…

"Y'ready?" Daryl asked, his hand on the door knob of the local store. Beth nodded, as he turned the handle and swung open the door in one swift movement. He had his crossbow aimed ahead, and glanced back only to check that Beth had her hand on her knife – she did. They stepped forward slowly, hearing the groans of a walker in the back ground. Daryl signalled to hang tight while he proceeded forward. Beth heard his crossbow fire and she held her breath. Daryl came back from around the corner.
"Fuckin' broke my bolt," Daryl spat. He threw it to the side, clearly angered. "Let's just get what we need and get the fuck outta here."

Beth obeyed and began searching without a word. She found some canned peaches, a couple packets of oats and some bottled water. She put them in her bag and looked around for Daryl.

He was down a different aisle, scanning the shelves. He had already found some essentials, but now he was just curious as to what else he could find. In the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a small red box. He picked it up.
"Huh," he mumbled to himself. Condoms. He tried to think of any survival uses for them, but only resulted in the thought of being in bed with Beth Greene. He turned the box over, only to find they were out of date. "Fuck."

"What?" Beth asked, stood beside him. He jumped and hid the box behind him, suddenly embarrassed. Daryl's reaction startled Beth.
"Nuthin. Let's go," he said sternly. He turned around and began walking out, condoms still in hand. Beth wasn't stupid; she knew exactly what he was looking at. His stern voice had sent strange shivers down her back and almost made her go weak at the knees. She had always loved it when he spoke like that.

…

The journey back to the funeral home was silent. Daryl walked ahead, still embarrassed by what had happened back at the store; still angry at himself for even considering using them, and still confused as to why he had dreamt about Beth Greene. He needed to distance himself from her, before he did anything that he would regret, even if that meant being a total dick to her. It was for her own good. He felt the small red box in his pocket, pressing against his leg. He wondered what he would do with them.

Beth hobbled a few feet behind him, her ankle starting to feel sore. She wondered why he was always so mad. They were alive, wasn't that enough reason to lighten up? A voice broke her thoughts.

"Keep up, we need'a get back 'fore it gets dark," Daryl grunted, still facing away from her.
"Sorry, it's just my ankle. It's gettin' worse, I think."
"Jus' push through it, y'can rest once we get indoors."

Yes, Mr Dixon, she thought to herself. She hated the way he dictated her, the way he set the rules and that was that. But she was far too exhausted to confront him, so she simply focused on keeping up and getting back to their shelter.