The next morning, Shane, Daryl, T-Dog and Andrea were gearing up to go after the others. They had been gone all night, and after Lori came back after having an accident on the road, they feared the worst. They hoped that the group would come back that night, but they had no such luck. Maggie and Patricia were forced to resort to putting Beth on an IV to keep her stable, her condition not getting any better, and they all knew that without Hershel things would go from bad to worse.

Daryl stood at the boot of Shane's car, sipping on some water, as they others all packed extra guns and ammo into the back, along with some supplies in case things went haywire. He looked out to the dirt track leading to the town and in his head he thought back to the last time he saw Parker. She was hot headed and pissed at him, and he was frustrated that that was his last memory of her. Not that he cared that she was upset with him, it was more like he wanted to have the last word. Instead, he had left, and he hadn't even known she had taken off with her brother and Rick until Carol had told him. Now she hadn't come back, and he was still pissed off with her.

She shouldn't have gone, he thought to himself as Shane nodded at him that they were ready to head off. She should have just stayed put and not put herself in danger for once. But she always wanted to help out, especially when Glenn was involved, and there wasn't much you could say to persuade her to do otherwise. Daryl scoffed. Stubborn bitch.

"Guys." Andrea's voice brought him back to reality, and he turned to see her staring off into the distance. Everyone looked up at the sound of tires running across the track and they all watched as Carol's old Cherokee rounded a corner and came into view. There was a split second when Daryl's shoulders sagged in relief, but then he remembered he was supposed to be angry and went back to frowning. The car was travelling practically at full speed, and they stared as it screeched to a halt up at the entrance to the farm house. Rick stepped out just as the rest of the group ran out of the house, Carl being the first one to smile.

"Dad!" He shouted and ran to him, letting his Father hug him to his chest. Lori walked over and pulled Rick and her son into her embrace, thanking the heavens that he was alright. Carol grinned as Parker hopped out of the car and hurried to her, pulling her into a hug and letting out a laugh.

"Thank god you're all okay." She whispered and Parker smiled into her shoulder. Parker then felt something hit her side and she looked down, peeling herself from Carol, to see Carl hugging her hip. She chuckled.

"Hey, kid." She said lovingly and bent down to hug him properly, cradling his head. "You okay?"

"Just glad you and Dad are back." He said and she kissed his cheek, letting him go. Parker turned to her brother to see Maggie run towards him, completely ignoring her father. Parker frowned, but heard a grunt from behind her and she spun around to see Daryl. He was holding onto his crossbow and had shoved his other hand into his pocket. He was just looking at her, a vacant expression on his face, and she didn't know how to react.

"Hi." She said eventually, letting the others all have a small reunion. Daryl nodded at her.

"You hurt?"

"No. You okay?" He shrugged. She remembered what she thought in the car on the way to the town, after Glenn told her and Rick about Maggie. She remembered the way Daryl made her stomach flip and her heart beat faster, and as she stared at him she realised that was happening right now. But now wasn't the time, because she heard Randall grunt from inside the car and she sighed, turning to glare at him. T-Dog then came up from behind her and frowned, seeing the boy inside the car who had a bandage over his eyes.

"Who the hell is that?" He asked, pointing at him and everyone turned to look. Parker rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

"That's Randall." Glenn said. The group stared at him before Rick and Glenn moved towards the door, yanking it open and grabbing the boy. He was half asleep, having passed out from the pain of his leg that Hershel had bandaged up for now. They then asked Daryl and Shane to help pick him up and the four men carefully carried him towards the barn. Parker watched and then looked up at the house. Hershel had disappeared inside, no doubt going to treat Beth, and she wandered up to the front door, Carol behind her.

"I'm sure you've got questions." Parker said over her shoulder. "Let's just let them sort him out before the interrogation begins." She slumped into a dining chair and ran a hand through her hair. Carol bit her lip and Parker realised she was holding something.

"I found your shirt." Carol said and handed over her brother's College shirt. Parker smiled instantly and brought it close to her chest.

"Oh my god, thank you." She breathed. "Where did you find it?"

"Daryl had it." Parker blinked at her and then laughed, loudly. When she saw Carol wasn't laughing, she slowly started to frown. "That...that wasn't a joke?"

"He had it in his camp. I think...I think he washed it for you."

"Daryl washed my shirt?" She asked, holding it at arm's length and inspecting it. She then smelt something on it and grimaced. "Barely, I can smell the squirrel from here. Why would he do that?"

"I asked him that myself." Carol said, sitting at the table and ignoring the others that started to file in and take their seats. "He didn't say why just...got all defensive on me again." Parker nodded, not being able to do much else, before hanging the shirt over her chair and leaning against it. Weird. After a few more minutes of waiting, the men returned from the barn, saying they had chained Randall - their new prisoner, according to Dale - to a pipe in the shed beside it.

"I still can't believe you brought someone, a stranger, home with you." Shane said shaking his head.

"We couldn't just leave him behind." Rick said. "He would have bled out. If he lived that long."

"He was caught in a bad end of town." Glenn spoke up, then saw Maggie looking at him and he turned away. Parker noticed this and glanced between the two of them. Why was he so on edge all of a sudden? She thought he'd be overjoyed to see Maggie again, but it was like the complete opposite.

"What do we do with him?" Andrea asked just as Hershel walked into the room.

"I've repaired his calf muscle as best I can." He said, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. "But he'll probably have nerve damage, won't be on his feet for at least a week."

"When he is, we'll give him a canteen, take him out to the main road and send him on his way." Rick said. The front door opened but no one really bothered to take notice, except for Parker. She saw Daryl walk through and she clutched the shirt tighter to her chest. He saw it in her hand and looked sheepishly at the floor, knowing Carol had obviously explained to her where she found it. He had been furious that morning when he saw it missing from the line after he had hung it back up again. He just wished Carol had left him alone, now he looked like some creep who went around stealing women's clothes. It wasn't like that at all, but right now only he knew that.

"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Andrea asked, and Parker watched with steady eyes as Daryl made his way over to the corner of the room furthest away from her, not meeting her gaze. They would talk later, they both thought, but for now they had something more important to discuss.

"He'll have a fighting chance." Rick shrugged.

"So we're just gonna let him go?" Shane asked, shaking his head. "He knows where we are."

"He was blindfolded the whole ride up here, he doesn't know a thing. It's not like he's a threat anymore." Parker said, a little ruder than she intended, but Shane wasn't exactly her best friend at the moment. She was still pissed about him shooting up the barn, especially since he seemed so indifferent to it now.

"Not a threat? How many were there?" Shane asked glaring at her. "You killed three of their men, you took one of them hostage, but they just ain't gonna come looking for us?"

"They abandoned him!" Parker argued, turning in her chair to look right in his eyes. "They don't give a shit what happens to him now, they can't!"

"And you know that for sure?" He raised an eyebrow and she bit her tongue. Carol rested a hand on her arm and she sighed, sitting in her chair properly again. "That's what I thought."

"I think we should still post a guard, just in case." T-Dog suggested, trying to diffuse the tension.

"He's out cold right now." Hershel pointed out. "Will be for hours."

"You know, I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy." Shane said sarcastically, pushing his way through the group. He scoffed. "Look at this folks! We're back in fantasy land." Parker stood up, not being able to keep her anger for Shane under control anymore, but Carol pulled at her hand just as Shane turned around. He cocked his head and smirked at her. "What, you wanna say something, little girl?" He asked, taking a few steps closer to her.

Parker stood her ground. "There's a lot I want to say to you." She hissed. Shane scoffed.

"Like what? Take your best shot." Parker's hand twitched, as if wanting to reach for a gun, but Shane saw this and got toe to toe with her, breathing right down her neck. Everyone around them held their breaths. "Come on, Parker. Seeing as you think you're so tough because you shot a man in the head." Her eyes widened. Rick must have told him, how else would he find out?

"Enough, man." Daryl grunted, pulling Shane by the shoulder so he was no longer in Parker's face. Parker stared at him as Shane glared at Daryl before pushing his hand away and scoffing one last time before once again trying to leave. Hershel was having none of it however.

"You know we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet." He snapped, making Shane stop mid step. "Let me make this perfectly clear once and for all. This is my farm, now I wanted you gone, Rick talked me out of it but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favour, keep your mouth shut. And stay away from Parker." Shane locked eyes with Hershel for a few seconds before shrugging, knowing he was defeated, and walking out the front door. Parker was still glued to the floor, glaring at where Shane had just been, then let out a heavy sigh. Carol stood, turning her head so she could look at her face properly.

"Are you alright?" She asked, but Parker just gritted her teeth and pushed her away, running out the back door through the kitchen. Parker felt her feet take her all the way past their camp, not wanting to be close to where Shane might have wandered off too, and ended up sprinting across the field until she was halfway between her camp and Daryl's, before collapsing to her knees in the grass. It took a second before the tears started pouring from her eyes and she let out soft sobs, not being able to hold it in any longer. If Shane hadn't brought up what happened at the bar, maybe she could have held back the feeling of guilt, of disgust, for what she had done. Tony was bad, she knew that, but she had still killed somebody and that was too much for someone like her to handle.

She never intended to kill, even in this world, but now that had all come crashing down on her. She threw her hand up to cover her mouth as the sobs came out louder, not wanting to attract too much attention in case any walkers from the woods could hear. They had to be careful now, they had no idea what was in those woods. Dead or alive.

Eventually, she managed to calm down. She was just left with the deep breathing and the aching pain in her stomach of feeling sick. She sat Indian style in the grass and picked at the tiny daisies growing around her, knitting them together to make a chain. It was something she used to do in her mother's garden growing up, putting them on her brothers head to annoy him.

"Parker?" She barely glanced over her shoulder before she saw Carl walking up to her, his Dad's hat still on his head and a sad look on his face. She smiled and wiped her eyes.

"Hey, kid." She said. "What are you doing all the way up here?"

"Looking for you." He said. He then noticed the daisy chains and frowned. "What are you doing?"

She laughed at the little chain she had made and shrugged. "I don't really know." She bit her lip, feeling it tremble, and Carl must have noticed it too because he sat down in front of her. He didn't say anything for a while, and Parker was thankful that he was such a smart kid already. He could read people like a book.

"Did you really do it?" He asked quietly. She looked up through her lashes and then nervously tucked some hair behind her ear. She hesitated but nodded.

"Yeah."

"Did you have to?"

"If I didn't...something bad might have happened." She explained.

Carl frowned. "What did happen?"

"These guys came into the bar we found Hershel in. Just some guys, never met them before. They seemed...okay at first. Then they started asking about where we lived, who we were with. They found out about the farm." Carl stiffened.

"Then what?" He asked. Parker looked off into the distance.

"They talked for a while. Then one drew a gun on your Dad. But Rick he...he shot first. He saved himself. Then the other guy got his gun out and I panicked you know, I thought Rick might have made the shot himself but I didn't want to take the risk so I-" She paused, the words getting stuck in her throat. "I...I…"

"So you shot him." Carl finished for her. She hung her head.

"Yeah. I shot him."

"Good." She looked up in shock but Carl's face was dead serious.

"What?"

"You did the right thing. He was going to draw on my Dad but you stopped him. You saved him, Parker." She watched his eyes, they were just as blue as his Dad's, but they were still different. Rick's were colder, but Carl's were warm and for some reason Parker felt like she could tell him anything in that moment. Even if he was just a little kid.

"I still killed somebody." She whispered. "I've never...Carl, I don't ever want you to have to do that. Okay? It's not a good thing."

"It is when you have no other choice, when someone you care about is about to get hurt." He argued, scowling a little. "You can't be afraid of it. Own it. You saved my Dad's life, you did a good thing." Carl looked down at the daisy chain and then scooted forward. "How do you make one of these anyway?" Parker felt a big smile tug at her lips and she felt the anger start to melt away.

"You take a daisy, and use your thumbnail to piece a hole through the stem, see?" She demonstrated and Carl watched intently before copying her, grinning as he got it on the first try. "Then take another and loop it through so the daisy head rests against the stem, and repeat. See, easy." Carl laughed as she then placed her daisy chain around her head like a crown. As she watched him grab more and more flowers, Parker realised something about the small kid in front of her that she had never thought about until that moment.

Carl Grimes was the last real hope they had, and he was going to beat this world one day at a time.

The next day, Rick and Shane took Randall out of the his makeshift cell in the shed and drove off to leave him on one of the roads like Rick suggested. Parker knew they'd probably fight again, they always did, but at least Randall was off the property. Whenever she walked past the shed and heard him wail or shuffle around she remembered that he was apart of a group that could potentially endanger them all. They could come for him at any time, that is if they actually cared about him enough to look for him.

Parker contemplated it all in her tent, lying back on her cot and looking out of the small, screen window. However the thoughts left her the moment she saw a familiar pair of boots walk past and a crossbow hanging from a hand. She jumped up, threw her boots on and clambered out of her tent. He hadn't been down in hours, staying as far away from the main camp as he could, so she hadn't had a chance to talk to him. Parker scanned the area before seeing him walk up the hill a few meters away holding some rabbits over his shoulder. He'd been out hunting again. That's all he seemed to do nowadays; hunt and sulk in his tent.

"Hey!" She called, jogging over to him. Daryl clearly heard her, he turned his head, but he deliberately kept on walking. "Hey, Daryl!" Parker grabbed his shoulder, only for him to flinch and pull away instantly.

"The hell you want?" He spat and she rolled her eyes.

"Don't start with me." She said. "I want to talk to you." He huffed.

"'Bout what?"

"My shirt. I wanna know why you had it."

"Got it back, didn't ya? What else is there." He turned to walk away but Parker jumped in front of him, making him stumble slightly. "The hell-"

"Answer me." She ordered, her voice sounding a lot stronger than she intended and she felt her shoulders straighten out proudly. Standing up to Daryl gave her some weird power trip, seeing as he was so moody and angry all the time it was nice to get the upper hand every so often.
Daryl looked down at her, studying her face, before sighing and looking away.

"After you got shot, you lost blood. A lot of it." He said. "It was everywhere, on me and all over your clothes. Carol and Lori they...changed you." He seemed to go pink at that and Parker kept in a smirk. "When you were lying there on the third night, nobody had washed your things so...I did." That made her cock her head to the side.

"Wait, what?" She asked and he looked down at his feet.

"I-I just wanted something to do, alright? I still couldn't hunt 'cos of my hip and I had nothin' better to do so I washed your stuff. Wasn't hard. Besides, didn't want your brother to have to do that. He was going through enough already seein' you lie there." She blinked up at him and he grunted under her gaze. "Just, forgot to give it back after you woke up. M'sorry, alright?"
Parker didn't say anything and Daryl began to panic. Did that come out creepy? He didn't think it was creepy, but then again what business did he have washing a lady's shirt for her? It wasn't like people considered him to be a gentleman. Then he heard something he hadn't heard in days. Parker's laugh. In fact, she was hysterical, gripping her side and trying to cover her mouth. He just stood and stared at her. "What's so funny?" He demanded.

"Shit, sorry." She tried to get her breathing back to normal but failed, giggling into her palm. Daryl groaned. "I'm sorry! I just did not expect washing it to actually be the reason."

"Yeah well. Why else would I take your shirt?" He said gruffly. Parker shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe you took it because you needed something to remind you of me? Because you know, you clearly love me that much." He scoffed.

"Stop." He started to walk away but Parker grinned and followed him, clinging to his arm just to annoy him that little bit more.

"You didn't deny it!" She said in a sing-song voice and Daryl growled.

"Will you let go of me?" Parker laughed again and skipped alongside Daryl, making him shake his head in disappointment. "Christ, woman." He muttered.

Not too far off, Carol watched them from her seat beside the campfire and smiled, chuckling to herself. Across from her, Glenn slowly crawled out of his tent, yawning loudly, and stretched his arms up. He then noticed the shit eating grin on Carol's face and he smiled.

"What are you laughing at?" He asked and she quickly looked away.

"Oh, nothing." She said innocently and Glenn just shrugged, too tired to care. Carol went back to looking at Parker and Daryl as they made their way to his camp. Even if she wasn't happy anymore, at least there were two people that could be.

Parker eventually let go of his arm, much to Daryl's relief, and looked around his camp. She hadn't been up here yet, only seeing it from a distance, and took in the wire attached to two trees that hung like a washing line. Except it held up squirrels, birds and rabbits instead of laundry. There was a fire pit in the centre and a stack of bricks that had been left over from some construction work of Hershel's, giving Daryl something to sit on as well as leave his makeshift arrows against. His tent was made next to the stack of bricks and it was zipped up so she couldn't see inside, but she assumed it wasn't filled with very much. Daryl always did travel pretty light. The last thing she seemed to notice however was his motorbike and she smiled at it. She was still in awe that he managed to keep it so pristine and perfect, even during the apocalypse. She wandered over to it and gently touched one of the handles and ran her hand across the cold leather seat. Daryl watched from where he was leaning against the bricks and raised an eyebrow.

"You done?" He asked and she turned, still smiling. He tried to ignore the fact his stomach was in knots whenever she smiled, but it was becoming increasingly difficult the more he saw it. This feeling he had whenever Parker was around was starting to become worryingly more prominent, and trying to suppress it was making Daryl's head hurt, but he didn't know what else to do about it. Other than the obvious of course, but he'd rather get shot in the hip again. Opening up wasn't one of his strong suits.

"Think you'll ever let me ride it?" Daryl stared at her with wide eyes, his mind wandering to places it shouldn't have.

"Ride what?" He asked slowly. Parker snorted.

"Your bike? I mean, I've never been on before but it can't be that difficult, right?" Daryl was dumbstruck for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Uh, yeah. I mean no, no you ain't ridin' it. I don't let anyone ride it, 'cept me and Merle." Parker's smile dropped slightly and Daryl kind of wished it would come back.

"Do you think you'll find him again?" She asked, stepping away from the bike and over to the ire, prodding some of the logs with the toe of her combat boot. Daryl crossed his arms.

"Merle? Dunno. Maybe." He said with a shrug.

"You're not worried about him?"

"He can take care of himself. Always has." Parker became intrigued and sat down on one of the logs at the fire, resting her elbows on her knees and looking up at him.

"Tell me something about yourself." She said suddenly.

"No."

"Oh come on." She said, smiling again, and Daryl inwardly cursed himself for feeling fuzzy the second her lips tugged upwards. "Some stupid story from your childhood or something you want to do, anything." Daryl groaned but placed himself down on another log opposite her.

"If I'm talkin' 'bout my childhood I'll need a drink."

"It's not even two-thirty." Parker scolded.

"It's the end of the world. I don't care." Daryl said and pulled a hip flask from his leather jacket. She smirked at him.

"You steal that?"

"I ain't no thief." He said with a scowl and she raised her hands up. "Besides, I took it when the world went to hell. Don't count as stealin' no more does it." Parker shrugged.

"Guess it doesn't." She then watched him take a swig and got an idea. "Hey, wanna let me have some?"

"Not really." He said.

"Please?" She batted her lashes at him and he grimaced.

"Ain't you got somethin' better to do than bug me?"

"Not until about five when dinner starts cooking. I've got plenty of time." She grinned and Daryl just gave up and handed the flask over. Parker greedily took a gulp then spluttered, coughing harder than she anticipated.

"You're gonna cough a lung up, give that back." Daryl snatched the drink from her hands and tutted. "S'just whiskey, won't kill ya."

"I think it tried its best." Parker wheezed. "That's the strongest whiskey I've ever had."

"Nah, you've just had crap whiskey." Daryl said teasingly and sipped again, making her huff.

"I prefer tequila." Daryl snorted as her.

"Course you do."

"What's wrong with tequila?"

"It's a college girl's drink." He said, leaning back against the bricks. Parker raised her eyebrow at him.

"I used to be in College." Daryl didn't respond. "Okay fair enough." She sighed and he smirked slightly. "You gonna tell me something about yourself then?"

"Nope." Daryl said, folding his arms defiantly. Parker clicked her tongue.

"Fine. Then, how about we do something fun?"

"Like what?" Daryl asked, trying to sound as bored as possible when in reality he was kind of intrigued.

"Have you played never have I ever?" Parker asked, thinking of the first drinking game that she played in high school. Daryl frowned. "It's a drinking game." Parker said but Daryl still didn't react.

"Never needed a game to get lit before." He said, making her snort in amusement.

"Basically, I say something I've never done, and if you've done it then you drink. And you do the same for me. If you haven't done it, then you don't drink and we pass it on. Make sense?"

"Do I have to do this?" Daryl asked.

"No, but what else do you have to do today?"

"Sleep?"

"Come on, have fun for once. All you do is mope around up here and you don't talk to anybody." Parker said, leaning forward slightly. "Just for a bit, okay? Then I promise I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day." Daryl thought it over before letting out a long sigh.

"Fine." He gave in. "You first.." Parker grinned at him wickedly.

"Okay. Never have I ever...stolen something." Daryl sneered at her before taking a sip and she gasped at him.

"And you said you weren't a thief." She teased.

"I ain't! Just took some cigarettes from some guy once. He wasn't usin' 'em." She shook her head but nodded his way.

"Okay. Your turn."

Daryl wracked his brain, all whilst trying to avoid the lingering eye contact Parker was trying to make with him. "Never have I ever been outside of Georgia."

"Wait, seriously?" She asked and he shook his head casually. "Not even for a vacation?"

"A vacation was goin' camping in the woods." He said. "Did that every other day." She gestured for him to hand her the hip flask and he did, watching her take a sip. This time she tried to keep the coughing to a minimum.

"Okay, my turn." This carried on for another hour, Daryl asking simple questions whilst Parker was trying to draw more and more interesting ones out of him. Yet, he had barely drank from the flask, apparently not having done many of the things Parker had done. She was feeling tipsy already and she swayed slightly in her seat, giggling at the look Daryl was giving her.

"You have really nice eyes, you know that?"

"Jesus." Daryl grunted. "You really are a college girl. Can't handle your liquor."

"It's been a while, okay, let me live a little." She groaned, sitting against the log and letting her legs sprawl out in front of her. Daryl was still in the same position, hardly moving at all. But then again, she had nearly finished the flask off by herself. She started to get bored of being the only one drinking, and decided to venture in deeper questions. Questions that she only dared to ask in her idiotic state.

"Never have I ever hooked up with someone that I regret right after." Daryl didn't move and Parker threw her hands up. "Seriously?!"

"Now what?" He asked.

"There's gotta be something you've done before. You can't be that boring."

"Sorry to disappoint you, your highness." He said. "But I don't hook up with people when I'm railed."

"You're missing out."

"Am I?" He raised an eyebrow. Parker swallowed.

"Guess not. Fine. Never have I ever hooked up with somebody that I regretted when I was sober."

"Now you're cheatin'." He said bluntly, heat rising to his cheeks.

"Just give me an answer. I'll let you ask two questions in a row if you want." Daryl looked at the flask in his hand and paused. Did he want to lie? He looked at Parker and then handed her the flask. She stared at him, mouth falling open. "You're kidding? So everyone you've ever hooked up with wasn't a mistake? You have no regrets whatsoever?"

"It's my turn." Daryl said quietly.

"But I have another question!" Parker whined.

"You said I could ask two in a row. So I'm gonna ask two." Daryl pointed out and she pouted at him.

"Thought you weren't enjoying this game."

He ignored her. "Never have I ever lied to my brother." Parker rolled her eyes and took a huge gulp from the flask and Daryl snorted. "Bet that's a story or two."

"Or seven." Parker muttered.

"What you lied about?"

"Too much, next question." She said with a wave of her hand. Daryl bit the inside of his cheek whilst thinking.

"Never have I ever...snored so much it woke everyone up in camp." Parker blushed a deep shade of red and glared at him as Daryl held back a laugh.

"You asshole! I do not snore!"

"Lie."

"I don't! Don't bully me!"

"S'not bullyin' if it's the truth." Daryl said whilst covering his mouth was his hand, suppressing a smile. Parker stuck her tongue at him, like the mature adult she was, before sipping and then putting the flask at her feet. Then she realised something and looked at Daryl through narrowed eyes. The way he had been answering these questions seemed strange to her, and a thought popped into her head. Something that only drunk Parker would be stupid enough to say.

"Never have I ever had sex." She said bluntly, making Daryl choke on air. She stared him down as he went pink. She had him now.

"Thought we were saying things we haven't done." He said slowly. She shrugged.

"Sometimes you can break that rule, if you're curious enough." She replied. Daryl looked away.

"I ain't drinkin', if that's what you were lookin' for." He said after a moment's pause. Parker sat back against the log, not being able to believe he was actually being honest with her. "I ain't ashamed. There's more important thing to be worryin' about out here. Especially now. So go ahead, think whatever you want." Daryl brought his leg up and rested his elbow against it, leaning back against his own log, as Parker stared into his eyes.

She didn't say anything for a long time and Daryl started to get uncomfortable, or at least more uncomfortable than he already was. He wasn't entirely sure why he admitted something like that to her, but there wasn't anything he could do about that now. It was out in the open and floating around them in this small space. And Daryl really, really wanted to go and shoot something.

"Daryl?" Her soft voice asked, calling him back to reality. She had leaned forward, kneeling in front of him so she could see into his eyes better; something he wasn't enjoying. "Have you even kissed someone before?" Daryl scoffed at her, fiddling with his jacket.

"I don't wanna play this stupid game anymore. It's for kids."

"It's a drinking game, it's not for kids at all."

"Well it's just stupid then."

"Daryl." Parker repeated, leaning forward even further so she was resting on her palms that had been placed in front of his boots.. "Just stop."

"Stop what?" He asked, frowning.

"Talking." She whispered and moved her body forward. Daryl didn't have enough time to register what was happening before he felt something soft press against his mouth. Seconds ticked by before he opened his eyes, not even realising he had shut them in the first place, and was met with Parker's closed ones. He felt her sigh against his mouth and everything came crashing down on him like a ton of bricks; which if he pushed the stack behind him hard enough might actually come true. She was kissing him. He felt his stomach knot up and the air caught in his lungs as he tried to breath, but nothing happened. So he lifted his hands, planted them on her shoulders, and shoved her away with all his strength, sending her flying backwards into the dirt. Daryl jumped up and stumbled, the liquor finally reaching his head and making things go fuzzy.

"The hell was that?" He shouted, glaring at her. Parker blinked up at him and touched her lips before blushing.

"I-I-"

"Go!" Daryl snarled, turning his back on her. "This stupid game's over. I don't want you here!"

"Daryl, I'm s-sorry!" She tried to say, crawling onto her knees and pushing her body upright, swaying slightly as the alcohol was still fresh in her system. Daryl shook his head and tried not to let anger get the better of him. He didn't want to scare her like he did Carol the other night. But he was so mad. How could she just do that? He didn't give her permission, he didn't want that from her. The hell was she even thinking?

"I don't care just...just go." He said finally before storming off into his tent and zipping up the door. He collapsed onto his cot and covered his face with his hands, feeling how warm it was and how drenched it now was with sweat. He listened for Parker's footsteps and after a minute or so he heard her run off, seemingly in the direction of the main camp, and sighed in relief. Daryl laid there for a while, thinking over that entire situation, and closed his eyes. He had to stop this, whatever feeling he had for her. He didn't like it, he didn't want it. It was all too much for him to handle, and Parker's action just confirmed it. He was better off alone, he repeated that in his head all day until he went to sleep that night.

"Ain't nobody ever gonna love you except me, little brother."

Merle was right, Daryl thought before drifting off to sleep. He was much better off alone.