A/N: Magenta sent me a picture and so I had to write it into this chapter. And Thanks for that xoxoxox I love you.
Let me know what you all think.
The party was for the kids and the counselors and it started at six, Tara and Rick were up on the stage with the karaoke machine already when Lori and Carol walked in at six fifteen. Some of the kids were singing to themselves below the stage and Carol just knew this was trouble.
She did not sing and someone was going to make her do it. She felt it in her gut.
The dining room was decorated with balloons and streamers and glittery things all over the place. There were little kids everywhere it seemed.
The girls were dressed casual in jeans and t-shirts, some in shorts which would be their attire for the whole summer. Except Carol had on black Doc Martin boots instead of sneakers like Lori did.
The older group, the minions were dressed up a little more than the younger counselors except the four boys, Shane, Daryl, Zack and Gareth.
The boys had button down shirts on and Daryl's was a little too big, he also had on a tie that was loose around his neck. Carol thought he looked adorable, and she let out a sigh. She didn't want this to happen, but it was.
It was happening weather she liked it or not.
He had the sleeves rolled up and Carol could see the tattoo on his bicep, which she didn't know he had. It made her wonder if he had any other tattoos.
Shane, Gareth and Zack had on shirts similar to Daryl's too, but Carol noticed him specifically. She stood there across the room watching him haul around bags of ice as Lori walked up behind her as she stood by a craft table.
"Nice view huh?" Lori said.
Carol nodded. "They clean up good don't they?"
The tables were set up with paper tablecloths and places for the kids to play games and do crafts and a few of the other girls were sitting with them and helping. They weren't too late at least. She saw Lisa and Kelsey at one of the tables and Kelsey looked up at her with an evil look. She had heard what Carol and Lori were talking about.
"What the hell is her problem?" Carol said. "She's been giving me that look all week."
"I dunno, she's just a bitch I guess."
"Wonderful." Carol said, thinking about her interactions with that girl. She didn't do a thing to her, yet Kelsey seemed to have such contempt for her. It was clear in the way she looked at Carol and acted around her.
"She's jealous or something fuck her." Lori said and led Carol across the room away from Kelsey's table.
Rick and Tara were singing 'Dancing in the Moonlight' up on the stage and very out of key. Both held a microphone that was hooked up to the karaoke machine.
Daryl, Shane, Zack and Gareth were already behind the counters that were set up. They were getting food ready and pouring drinks for the kids who were milling around.
Carol and Lori walked across the room looking around at everything. This was one hell of a party already between the music and the smell of the food the girls were in an instant good mood.
They glanced up at Tara and Rick and Lori crinkled her nose. Those two were crucifying that song, but Lori couldn't help singing along anyway as they walked over towards the food and drink tables.
"What? Aint ya gonna sing." Shane called over to her, yeah Carol thought, there was something going on with those two.
"Yeah we are." She said pointing to Carol. "Both of us."
"Oh no you don't." Carol started to say, but Lori was already pulling her over to the table where the boys were and they each picked up a drink.
"Oh, come on Carol, I'll pick us a good song." Lori said to her as she sipped a sprite from a Styrofoam cup.
Carol looked over at Daryl and he was snickering. He was also noticing that she had her hair down tonight and held back with a big hair barrette, making it cascade down her back like a waterfall. A blue tank top and a pair of faded jeans with a whole in the thigh.
Not one part of her got by him these days. She was his favorite daydream now and sometimes he dreamed of her at night too.
It was just a pair of jeans but holy shit.
He had noticed all of that as soon as she came in and was dizzy within two minutes of getting a whiff of her perfume. Coconuts, she smelled like coconuts, god damn.
"What's so funny, I wanna see your ass up there singing." She said to him as she pointed at him jokingly.
"Nah, not my thing." He replied pouring drinks into cups and lining them up on the table.
"What, too cool Dixon?" She said reaching for his tie and tugging on it lightly.
He nodded. "Pretty much."
She gave him a crooked smile. "I figured."
Then she bit her lower lip and he almost dropped the bottle of soda he was holding. Jesus. That was the hottest thing he had ever seen and it stirred up a mass of butterflies in his stomach. It was an entirely new feeling to him and as he stood up straighter he almost lost his balance.
Shane walked by and whispered "Smooth man." to him and continued on his way into the kitchen behind them.
Lori and Carol were already walking away, not having noticed him faltering behind the table and Carol called over her shoulder. "See you later Daryl."
Lori grabbed her arm. "Come-on let's get on the list."
She led Carol over to the sign up table, where they chose a song to sing for a duet from hell, in Carol's opinion.
Then they busied themselves with helping the kids with games and projects for a while sitting down at the table as people took their turn at the karaoke. She was going to kill Lori for making her do that song.
Lori had picked a doozy of course.
While Carol and Lori were doing crafts with the kids Maggie and Glenn were up there singing 'Animal' by Def Leppard and they were actually pretty good. Daryl and Shane were busy handing out drinks and pizza to the kids and anyone else who wanted it.
Soon after that Andrea and Michonne were up there singing 'Come as you are' by Nirvana and Carol was smiling and bopping her head to that song. She like Nirvana a lot.
Daryl watched her from across the room as much as he could, still trying to not let anyone notice. The way she bopped her head to the music and put the pencil up to her lips as she was helping the kids had him all distracted.
Gareth slapped him on the back lightly. "Come on man, back to work."
Before Carol knew it an hour and a half had passed, she needed a break and a smoke.
She looked back at the table where Shane and Daryl were and Daryl moved his fingers in front of his mouth in the cigarette motion and she put up one finger meaning wait a minute. She turned to Lori and said she was going outside for a second.
Lori called after her. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." And Carol ignored her.
Daryl nodded to her as she started to leave her area and excused himself from Shane. Shane looked over at Lori and laughed, pointing to their two friends and raising his eyebrows at her.
Daryl grabbed a cup of soda and went towards the door, putting on his 40's style hat as he walked out. Carol was behind him by a few minutes.
/
Daryl could hear the music in the back ground and he sang it to himself as he lit his cigarette and blew the smoke out. Maggie and Glenn were going for round two with this song. They were obviously singing it to each other, whatever he didn't mind Def Leppard much. He stood leaning against a tree out away from the lodge singing softly to himself.
A wild ride, over stony ground.
Such a lust for life, the circus comes to town.
We are the hungry ones, on a lighting raid.
Just like a river runs, like a fire needs flame.
Oh I burn for you.
I gotta feel it in my blood. Whoa
Carol was walking over to him and listening to him sing softly on the other side of the tree. She could hear the music coming from the lodge and she sang along as she walked too.
She whispered softly "I need your touch don't need your love, whoa." As she walked towards him.
She was there in minutes, right beside him, but he didn't see her. He heard her though, his hunter's instincts could hear someone hundreds of feet away.
"So you do sing." He spun around and she was standing there holding her hand out for a cigarette, he handed one to her and lit it for her.
"Don't tell anyone M'kay." He said.
She nodded. "Your secrets safe with me."
"Good, cause I wouldn't want to have to cut you off." He said waving the cigarette at her and then he smiled a smile that went right up to his eyes.
He had a great smile, she couldn't help thinking to herself, and of course the mole. Which, thanks to Lori, her eyes always went to now when she looked at him. Plus the way he was dressed, he just looked good.
"Very funny." She laughed. "I like the hat."
He smiled, looking down at the ground and then back up at her in a way that made her realize, she wasn't as anti- boy as she thought. He wasn't like other boys she had met, not like Garrett. He was sweet and a little shy.
"You hanging out after the kids go back with Maggie and Tara?" He asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
She nodded taking a drag from her cigarette. "Lori wants to, so I told her ok."
"Me too, we got to clean up anyway, those kids plow through everything in their path." He said changing the subject smoothly. He felt like he just asked her on a date and his palms were suddenly sweaty.
She nodded. "But they're so cute." She took a drag of her cigarette and they both turned towards the lodge to make sure no one was coming. He held out the cup for her to put her cigarette into when she was done and dumped his own into it.
"They're alright." He said.
"We better get going." She said and they both started walking back away from the tree that almost hid them.
They had found a lot of good hiding places to smoke that first week, this being one of them. The tree was so big that no one could see them if they stood behind it.
They met a few times a day to smoke together and were becoming good friends. They talked during these brief intervals and were getting to know each other a little bit. Carol confessed that she hadn't wanted to come here, but was glad she did.
Daryl told her he was glad to be here from the start, but there were some things he didn't tell her, he hoped to god it didn't come back to bite him in the ass.
It was good to have a friend who liked him for himself and not the money. They shared a love of the same type of music and books and they always had a lot to talk about.
They both teetered on the edge of what else this could grow to be, but neither one was willing to put themselves out there, each for their own reasons.
It was right there, but neither of them would take the step towards the other.
They were careful not to disappear for too long and they walked back together. If Rick or one of the minion's came looking they would be screwed.
As they came back in the door Lori was waiting because it was their turn on stage. Carol rolled her eyes at Daryl behind Lori's back.
"Have fun." He said waving at her and she made a face at him as Lori took her by the arm.
