I'm so sorry for the delay in this chapter, I've had it written for a couple days now but I promised myself I wouldn't upload it until I posted the next chapter of Fighter but I am having such a difficult time writing it that I've decided to just upload this now since I know it's been a while since I posted something...
Also, I feel like I should warn you guys that this story is taking a life of it's own and I had to cut a few things out of this chapter and work them into the next chapter otherwise this one would have been too long so at this rate, it looks like it's going to be a bit of a slow burn...
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I'm hoping you weren't heaven sent
Cause only hell knows where you've been
- PVRIS: "Only Love"
...
They ride for awhile. Daryl isn't sure how long, just knows that the sun is lower in the sky now, sinking down near the horizon and he had only really noticed it when he had caught the glare it reflected off the town limits sign they passed a few miles back. Most of the ride he had been focusing on the woman sitting behind him, her arms firmly secured across his middle and he can't be positive but he is certain that this is not her first time on a motorcycle. She's too relaxed, knows when to lean and she isn't fidgeting against the uncomfortable feeling that usually comes from a first ride and it makes him all the more curious about her because he never would have imagined a girl like her having any experience like she seems to have.
He slows down as he sees a gas station approaching and pulls in - he had been watching the fuel gauge worriedly as they rode, only remembering he had been planning to fill the tank after work before he decided to take a detour and pick up the girl - Beth, he had to remind himself he knew her name now, even if they still hadn't made any proper introductions yet. He pulls up to a pump and kills the engine, Beth's arms already loosening around him as he slides down the kickstand. He is even more sure this hasn't been her first ride when she climbs from the bike effortlessly, her legs steady as she stands. He follows her off and then goes toward the pump and lifts the nozzle before he looks back up at her.
"I'm gonna use the bathroom real quick and grab a drink, ya want anythin'?" she asks him, lifting her arms above her head in a stretch and he finds his eyes drawn to the pale sliver of flesh of her belly that is revealed with the rise of her shirt.
"I'll meet ya inside," he answers and she just nods her head before she turns and begins walking toward the store entrance and he wonders if he should be concerned how natural things just seem to be between them, almost as if he didn't just pick her up off the curb on a whim, offering her a ride to no where.
He finishes filling the gas and then heads inside, seeing her standing at the register with a bottle of water and she points out to the pump and the cashier nods and Daryl doesn't make it fast enough to prevent her from paying for his gas. He lets out a grunt as she smiles at him, smugly, like she knows he wouldn't have let her pay had he gotten here sooner. He lets it go for the moment, asking the cashier behind the counter for a pack of cigarettes and then they are walking out the door together, Beth taking a sip of water before she glances over at him.
"I would have gotten those for ya," she says and then backtracks, shaking her head slightly. "Well actually, probably better you did it. Don't have my license on me." she says with a tiny shrug and he stops at the garbage can beside the door, looking up at her as she pauses beside him and he begins to peel off the plastic coating the pack.
"Doubt he woulda sold 'em to ya either way," he blurts out, surprising her and himself.
She narrows her eyes at him and tilts her head and he sees a hint of amusement behind her eyes but also some anger, maybe even curiosity too and it confuses him.
"How old do ya think I am anyhow?" she asks, one of her eyebrows quirking.
He shrugs, pursing his lips and letting out a small mumble, something he isn't even sure he understands but he's pretty sure it sounded something like too young and she lets out a scoff but it's gentle, delicate and he's pretty sure she is the only person in the world who could manage a noise like that.
"Well, not like I'm askin' ya to take me back to your place and have your way with me but even if I was...you do know that the age of consent in Georgia is sixteen, right? You wouldn't get in trouble or nothing."
Daryl balks, his eyes widening in a way he is sure looks like something out of a cartoon because Holy shit. He was not expecting words like that to come out of her mouth and it's so out of left field because he wasn't even thinking about that and Holy shit. There was no way she was that young. Of course he knew she looked like it, he had already admitted to himself that at first he thought she was just a kid before, when he only knew he as the girl from the cemetery and not as the woman - that he so desperately hoped she was - that he had picked up off the curb because Holy shit.
He was going to jail for sure, picking up a minor, a damn child for Christ's sake and driving her out to the middle of no where on his motorcycle, don't matter none if she is of consenting age and - and then he sees it, that mischievous little smirk pulling at her lips, that glint in her eyes flashing in the glow of the setting sun and then she giggles. She fucking giggles.
Holy shit.
"You look like yer gonna have a heart attack or somethin'," she says with a tease in her tone and he is still standing there like a damn statue.
"Holy shit," he mutters a loud this time and shakes his head, his body remembering how to move again.
"I'm twenty two," she then reveals around another giggle and turns and walks away, heading back toward the bike and he just watches her go.
"Holy shit," he mutters again and then finds himself following after her.
...
It's officially dark out when he pulls into the diner parking lot. They were back in town now, still more towards the outskirts but he had headed back in the direction after they left the gas station, not knowing where to go but deciding it was better if he didn't continue driving them further away. He had still been deciding on where to take her when she had suddenly squeezed his middle and he looked down to see her pointing toward the neon lights coming up ahead and she had shouted over the wind, telling him she was hungry and he had just nodded his head and now he watched as she climbed off the bike again and he almost asked her where she learned to ride this time but before he could she let out a curse, staring down at the cell phone she had pulled out from her pocket with exasperation.
"You got a cell phone I can use?" she asks him, looking up at him as he swings his leg over and immediately starts to dig out his own phone. "Mine is dead and I should probably call my brother, let him know I'm alright."
He nods and hands his phone over and she takes it with a smile. He sees her typing on the screen and it isn't until she places the phone up to her ear that he suddenly remembers something.
"He's got my number - probably gonna be confused when he sees my name," he says and pulls out a cigarette, placing it between his lips.
She nods and then something flashes in her eyes and she lets out a tiny laugh. "What is your name anyway?"
He can't help but smirk at the ridiculousness of their situation and he wonders once again why he isn't worrying over the fact that things are just too easy between them.
"Daryl," he says, releasing a puff of smoke, mindful to blow it away from her direction. "Daryl Dixon."
She smiles. "Beth Greene."
He lets out a small chuckle then, shaking his head and taking another drag and Shawn must answer the phone then because she starts talking again.
"No, it's Beth," she says and Daryl can't help but watch her as she starts to twirl a piece of her long hair between her fingers. "Yeah, my phone died and he let me use his...Just wanted to let you know I was safe and I'll be home in a bit...Daryl said he'd give me a ride...Bye Shawn!" she says quickly and he gets the feeling that Shawn was wondering how in the hell his baby sister got tangled up with the likes of him and Daryl can't help but find himself wondering the same thing, just as he wonders what she will say to explain it when she gets home, wonders what the hell he would say if Shawn happens to corner him in the garage tomorrow.
He finds himself not caring at the moment when she hands him back his phone and he drops his cigarette to the ground, crushing it with his boot before he starts to follow her into the diner. The place is pretty much empty and he lets Beth choose their sit, picking a booth in the back corner and the waitress comes up to them almost immediately, setting down glasses of water and handing them menus. She leaves almost as quick, saying she'll be back for their order in a minute and Daryl finds himself unable to look anywhere but at the blonde mystery sitting across from him because even if she had been sitting behind him and holding onto to him, trusting him with her life for the past hour or so, he still knows nothing about her.
Her hair is all windblown and almost wild looking from having been on the back of his bike but she doesn't seem to care much and that confuses him. Most women he knew were all about keeping up with their appearance but looking at Beth across from him, her eyes scouring the menu he could tell she wasn't like most women - not that he ever really thought that for a minute if he were being honest. Her blue eyes flash up at him and it's then that he notices another thing about her, she wasn't wearing any makeup, or, if she was, he certainly couldn't tell and she gives him a small smile before she glances back down at the menu, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink and he notices her shiver and he is shrugging off his vest before he realizes it.
He peels off the flannel he had been wearing - unbuttoned over his work shirt - before he holds it out to her and she looks up in surprise. He arches an eyebrow at her before he shakes the shirt gently in her direction and she gives him an amused smile before she shakes her head and grabs it from him. She mumbles a thanks and he puts his vest back on as she shrugs into the long sleeves, his eyes and ears catching the movement of a small array of bracelets dangling from her left wrist before the fabric covers them and she brings the shirt in tight over her torso, not buttoning it but almost snuggling it to her body and he finds himself speaking before he realizes it.
"Didn't know Shawn had another sister," he grunts, his rough voice seeming to shock both of them and he can't help but scold himself and he finds wondering why he felt the need to start a conversation with her because she had seemed perfectly content with them just sitting there peacefully.
She seems to startle for a moment, her eyes going wide before she recovers and lifts her shoulders in a shrug. "Moved away when I was eighteen," she says and begins to swirl the straw in her drink. "I uh, did some things, when I was younger. Needed to get away for awhile, escape."
Before either of them can say anything more the waitress is back and taking their order and it isn't until she leaves and Beth's eyes flick up toward his own that he sees it again. That same thing he noticed when he had stopped at the curb and realized she wasn't just some kid. There was a story in her eyes, a story she hid well but he could see hints of it, just beginning to touch the surface before she looked away, back down at her drink and that's when he knew.
The girl may have looked like an angel, but she had demons, same as him, and he figured as much, with first meeting her at the cemetery and then witnessing her argument with Shawn, but what he hadn't planned on was the feeling that washed over him, the feeling of wanting to know those demons, draw them out, scare them away.
The feeling of wanting to know her.
It terrified him.
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This story is probably my favorite right now and you can thank PVRIS for most of the inspiration behind it, so don't be surprised if most of the opening lyrics are from them, they are my therapy at the moment. (and I would highly recommend you check them out if you haven't yet, they are also the inspiration for my "two-shot" While I'm Dreaming)
Thank you for reading and please review! :)