If someone had a gun pointed to her Beth still wouldn't be able to tell them how she had ended up here. One minute she and Rosita were lying in their beds, exchanging parental horror stories. Then the next minute they were shivering outside some run-down dive bar a few blocks from their dorm. It was Beth's own fault, she decided, for mentioning that her brother, Shawn, had given her a fake ID.

"Better to get a legit looking one from me than some shady one that'll get taken away the first time you flash it at a bouncer," he'd explained.

Rosita had squealed at the sight of it and produced her own from her desk drawer. That had settled the matter, they were going drinking.

It wasn't even that Beth didn't want to go to a bar. When Shawn had given her the ID she had been ecstatic. This whole thing was just happening too quickly. The only time she had ever drank alcohol before was one measly wine cooler this past summer. Beth had just always assumed that her first time going out drinking would be- Well, she hadn't known what it would be, but she definitely didn't picture it being with a girl she barely knew at the world's creepiest looking establishment.

"Beth. Beth. Beth!" Rosita called, pulling her from her thoughts. "This handsome man wants to see your ID."

"Oh right!" Beth stuttered, pulling the ID out of her pocket and observing the man in charge of the door. 'Handsome' definitely wouldn't have been the first word Beth used to describe him. 'Intimidating' probably would have been more accurate. His hair was cropped short and from the way he held himself, Beth was sure that he had been in the military. Whether or not he really had, Beth would still place her bets on this man in a fight.

The man scanned her ID quickly before handing it back to her with a smirk. "You're twenty four, huh?" His tone told her that he knew she wasn't but he made no moves to stop her and Rosita as they entered the bar.

The Moonshine Shack wasn't quite as decrepit looking as the exterior would have you believe, but Beth knew that "dive bar" really had been the perfect description of it. Different signs about hunting and drinking in excess littered the dark walls. There was even the stereotypical dartboard that was currently being used by two unsavory looking men. The rest of the patrons weren't much better. Rosita and Beth were by far the youngest people in the bar, and the only women. All the men sitting with their beers turned when they entered. Thankfully all they did was give them an appreciative once over before going back to minding their own business.

The bartender took one look at them, rolled his eyes, and continued to pour beers. He had long hair that covered up most of his eyes, but even from a distance they looked hostile. Beth swallowed and pulled Rosita back against the wall.

"I don't think this was a good idea."

Rosita laughed at Beth's uneasiness, "Don't even worry about it, hun! I talked to a buncha people at orientation and they all told me that this place is way easy to get served at." Rosita jerked her head towards the bartender. "We already got in so he's gonna serve us. Besides," her grin turned predatory, "Even if he gives us trouble I'll handle him."

Looking at Rosita, Beth was sure that she would be able to get any guy in here to eat off the floor. Suck it up, Beth told herself for the hundredth time tonight. She carried herself as if she had every right to be at this bar as she walked up to the bar and sat down.

"Hi there," Rosita grinned and winked at the bartender. "Jack and coke, please."

The man simply stared at them for a moment before obeying. Rosita seemed to realize right away that he wasn't going to be charmed by her advances and let her smile drop. She didn't seem affected by his hard stare though, which was surprising. If this man had given Beth a dirty look like that she would have shriveled up and attempted to disappear. When he turned to pour Rosita's drink, Beth could see his jacket had wings sewn onto the back.

"Cool jacket." Beth blurted out without thinking. He turned his head to look at her and Beth blushed under his dark, blue gaze.

"It's a vest." He said simply as he placed a full glass in front of Rosita. His accent was thicker than hers and his voice was gravelly, probably from smoking.

Beth looked him up and down and couldn't help but ask, "Why the heck would you wear a vest over a jacket?"

A man a few seats down snorted at her retort. "Damn Daryl, she's got ya there."

Obviously this Daryl guy wasn't one for conversation because he just stared at her coldly. Refusing to back down, Beth stared right back. The prolonged eye contact made the hair on her arms stand on end but Beth wasn't going to give in first. Daryl wasn't about to scare her away from this bar when she had every right to be here. Well, sort of.

The sound of a throat clearing caused them both to break eye contact to stare at the man who had made the noise. It was a big, domineering man with the most ridiculous mustache Beth had ever seen.

And he was obviously the boss from the way Daryl mumbled an apology and immediately asked her what she wanted to drink.

Beth didn't even try to hide the triumphant smirk that had spread across her face. "Can I get an orange juice and vodka, please? Thanks!"

Daryl's irritated look only made her smirk grow. Suddenly, Beth wasn't feeling too nervous about being here. Who knew some redneck asshole was all she needed to make her feel relaxed?


He wasn't even embarrassed at the satisfaction he felt when she nearly choked on her first sip of her drink. Daryl could tell just by looking at her that she was one of those girls who was used to batting her eyelashes and immediately getting her way. It shouldn't have bothered him so much, but it did. So instead of getting himself fired, Daryl ignored them and let Abe charm a good tip out of them. Every once in a while he'd make a noise in his throat to make it clear that he found them obnoxious. Each time the Beth girl would turn towards him, teeth gritted, but never saying anything.

By their second drinks, Beth and Rosita had become increasingly more forthcoming with talking to the bar's patrons. Well, Beth had become more forthcoming at least. Rosita had been loud and annoying from the start. While Beth's entitlement clearly came from a naïve place, Rosita knew exactly what effect she had on men. Daryl was sure that Abe wasn't going to make them pay for a single drink that night.

After a particularly obnoxious story about Beth falling off her horse, Daryl was done with her cutesy bullshit.

"So y'all are freshman, huh?" Daryl's cold tone cut off the girl's laughter. Rosita didn't even give him the time of day, rolling her eyes and turning back to flirt with Abe. Beth, however, was clearly as irritated by him as he was by her, so she rose to the bait. "Sure fuckin' act like it."

"Yeah, we are. Must suck to see all these young kids coming through here, bein' more successful than your sorry ass."

Daryl let out an involuntary hiss through his teeth. He hadn't meant to show her that she'd hit a nerve, but he hadn't been expecting that from someone who looked like her. Still, was that why he hated these girls so much? 'Cause they were something that he'd never be?

Christ, he thought, he was not about to have some sort of internal beat down over some dumb college bitch.

Beth, for her part, seemed to realize she had gone too far and turned bright red. Her blue eyes burned with guilt.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry. I-"

Daryl had no desire to hear it. Turning away from her, he ignored her for the rest of the night. She kept trying to catch his eye, not saying another word from that moment on. He knew she wanted to apologize but Daryl was decided, he wasn't dealing with this girl anymore. Finally he heard them get up to leave. Daryl felt a sense of relief wash over him at knowing that he would probably never see Beth again.