That girl was gonna be the end of me.

The second I wrapped her arms around me, I knew I was in trouble. She had gripped onta' me so tight I could barely breathe. Not gonna lie, I kinda liked it. She was so nervous when I brought her over to the bike but with one challenge she had pulled up her big girl pants and mounted like a pro. That, mixed with the outfit she had picked out for the night, made her look...different. For a split second, she wasn't what I had taken her for. She was strong, brave, and just a bit hotter because of it.

Having her that close to me made me feel weird, just like it had back in her apartment when we were doin' dishes. I could feel her helmeted head between my shoulders as her arms held onta me for dear life as I pulled out of the tiny space where I usually parked. Kinda made me laugh that she was so scared and we hadn't even taken off down the street yet. She had told me where we were headed, along with the fact that we were meetin' up with some of her friends from school. If she'd told me that earlier I probably wouldn't have gone, but I had already agreed and real men didn't go back on their word, especially with girls like her. From what she'd told me back in her apartment the day before, she'd had lots of guys let her down and I wasn't eager to join the ranks.

I felt her arms loosen around me once we were drivin' for a while. I guess she started to like the free feelin' you get when you're on a bike. I could feel her relax but her head was still resting on my back. She was stayin' close to me 'cause she had to, not 'cause she wanted to. I had to keep remindin' myself of that.

Once we got to the bar, I backed into a spot slowly and leaned the bike on the kickstand. "Stay put for a second" I told her as I dismounted. "I'll help you down." Carefully, I undid the helmet strap beneath her chin, lettin' myself enjoy the feeling of her soft skin underneath my rough fingers. She pulled the helmet off and it reminded me of those old movies I used to watch with Merle when we were kids. Her blonde locks just fell past her shoulders in a beyond hot, messy kinda way. She ran her fingers though her hair tryin' to tame it and I couldn't help but wonder whether or not her hair looked like that in a just fucked sorta way. I shook the thought from my head as I grabbed onto her arm to help her down from the bike. Both her hands grabbed onto my shoulders as she jumped down, her smile a mile wide.

"We've got to do that again!" she laughed as she tucked strands of hair behind her ears. She looked up at me with those bright blue eyes of hers and her smile only got wider if that were even possible. "But next time, remind me to tie my hair back, alright? Now, come on! Everyone's probably already here." She grabbed me by the arm to drag me inside behind her, but I pulled away on instinct. I didn't like bein' dragged anywhere, even by a hot blonde. I knew she caught on though 'cause she gave me a look that screamed 'sorry' and nodded toward the bar instead. If Beth was anything, she was hella perceptive.

Inside was nothin' like I pictured. It was obviously a college bar, with popular music playin', people dancin' (if it could even be called that), and drunk girls galore. I couldn't help but grin as I thought of how jealous Merle would be if he found out I was surrounded by his favorite prey. Even though drunk girls weren't my thing, I'd still pretend to have enjoyed it, just to rub salt in that fucker's wounds.

I followed Beth to a table where she was greeted by drunken yells and hugs all around. I stood off to the side, watchin' as she made her rounds but what really surprised me was when she came back to me and put her arms around my waist. "Everyone! Meet Daryl, my neighbor. Daryl, these are my friends." Soon people were gettin' up and comin' over to me to introduce themselves proper. There was Sasha, Beth's best friend from home who had moved to Savannah with her to go to school, Glenn, who was entirely too drunk already, Bob, Sasha's boyfriend, Tyreese, Sasha's older brother who was still younger than me, and Judith, who's mom apparently worked with Beth down at the Church. As everyone went to sit back down, Beth carefully grabbed my hand and led me to sit next to her on the booth, leavin' me on the outside. I wondered if she knew that's where I preferred to be, or if she did that so she could sit beside Sasha. Probably the second.

A couple of hours later, the kids were pretty hammered. They'd passed around a couple of bottles of tequila until Beth decided she wanted somethin' else. She was pretty drunk herself, but she was that cute, giggly kind of drunk that usually annoyed the shit outta me. She stood, wobbly of course, but declared she was goin' to the bar to get herself another drink. I offered to go for her, but I shoulda known she wouldn't stand for that.

"I can get my own drinks, Dixon" she said with a giggle as she tried to be all tough, "but thank you for bein' such a gentleman." Her Southern Belle accent was thicker now that she was lit, and it made me want to laugh at her. There was nothin' hotter than a beautiful girl with a southern drawl. Before I could even get up from the booth, she was shimmin' over me, her nice firm ass rubbin' against me as she left. I could feel myself strainin' against my jeans but I was able to calm down before Sasha scooted nexta me.

"So you're Beth's neighbor?" she asked with a slur, "The one with the brother?" I instantly straightened up at the mention of Merle. Did that mean that Beth talked about me to her? I felt my cheeks get hot, but I hoped Sasha was too drunk to notice. But her next sentence was like she was readin' my mind. "She talks about you, you know" she said, a smile comin' to her lips. "I keep telling her to get rid of that asshole back home, but she won't listen. Guess it's because they've been together for so long. She's afraid of starting over."

I was about to say somethin' when a familiar song began to play, making me cringe. I'd heard "Sweet Child O' Mine" more times then i'd cared to, it bein' one of Merle's favorite songs. I was about to take another shot when I heard the table yellin' and hollarin' at the stage, making me turn to see Beth beneath the spotlight with a mic in one hand and a glass of somethin' in the other. She was obviously drunk, leanin' on a stool as the music played and swingin' her hair softly before she sang.

Her voice poured over me like none I had ever heard before. Usually I hated any form of rock music, mainly because of Merle and our ol' man, but I my eyes were fixed on her as she belted with no hint of holdin' back. It was so different in comparison to when I'd heard her singin' in her apartment, it was wild and loose and fun, while before it had sounded sweet and tame. As she the last part, I swore her eyes were holdin' mine.

Where do we go, where do we go now? Where do we go, Sweet Child O' Mine!

When she was finished, the bar was roarin' with applause and yellin', especially from our table in the back. Handin' the mic off to the girl waitin, she started to walk back to us. I couldn't help but feel bad for whoever had to follow her. She had made the bar her bitch with just one song, and everyone knew it. Apparently there were people who paid too close attention to her after.

I saw her practically bein' pinned to the bar by some guy around her age or maybe a little older. Watchin' made my blood boil and I couldn't reason why. She was my neighbor, she had brought me to have fun, not to be her protector. But I just couldn't help the feelin'. Sasha was soon in my ear to explain what was goin' on.

"That's Zach" she whispered, probably unable to speak any louder due to how much she had to drink. "He's in our Anatomy lecture and practically worships the ground she walks on. She can't stand the guy though, finds him agitating." And that's all I needed to hear.

I nodded at the table as I saw a very drunk Tyreese attempt to go over to her, tellin' them I'd handle it. Plus, I was way more intimidating than any of them, especially with how drunk they were already. I quickly made my way over to them and saw the look of relief in Beth's eyes as I neared. Quickly, she pulled me to her, holdin' my hand and wrappin' her arms around my waist.

"Zach, have you met my boyfriend?" she asked, lookin' up at me with eyes that begged me to play along. "Daryl hun, meet Zach. We have class together." I nodded in the boy's direction as he drunkenly sized me up.

"This is your boyfriend?" he asked with a laugh. "Thought he was your babysitter or something." I must have tensed in anger because Beth squeezed me tight and kissed my cheek, which really caught me off guard.

"Nope, definitely my boyfriend. But I guess he's babysittin' me tonight, right baby?"

I played along, wrappin' my arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry about nothin' darlin', I'll keep ya safe like always."

Zach finally got the clue and said goodbye to us as we walked back to the table, our arms still around each other. I had to move my arm to her waist to keep her from fallin' on the way back and she was all smiles when she slid in next to Sasha and demanded more shots. I would have thought nothin' about what had happened if I hadn't felt her hand slip onto my thigh like she was holdin' me to her. While I had been regrettin' comin' that night, I was glad I had. I protected her, kept her safe from someone she obviously didn't like bein' around her.

And I didn't plan on stoppin' any time soon.