Chapter Ten

That afternoon Daryl was sitting in his tent, cleaning one of his bolts after he'd gone hunting for a few hours, trying to get his mind off of things. However, Riley had constantly been invading his mind. She fuckin' makes me want her, what the hell?! He thought as he unknowingly tightened his grip on the bolt in his hand.

He realized she was slowly closing in, developing some sort of hold on him and he didn't like it. He didn't know if he could let her in, he'd never done that with anyone before as he was used to keeping people at arm's length. The fact that they'd been making out in his tent just this morning wasn't helping the whole situation either. Now that he had felt the softness of her skin, the curves of her body, and those full lips, he didn't know if he was able to stay away from her.

What was also still nagging him in the back of his mind was what exactly had being going on between her and Shane. He didn't know how to bring it up without actually letting her know that it bothered him. Heck, he could barely admit it to himself in the first place. She was already starting to change him, and he didn't know if he liked it or not.

After thinking about it for another half hour or so, he made up his mind and placed away the bolt he had in his hand before getting up and stepping out of his tent. He scanned around the area, seeing Riley in the distance picking apples from the ground while Maggie was dropping them from the tree she was sitting in. He sighed but went over to the two women.

"Aah! You almost hit me in the head Maggie!" Riley called out as an apple fell on the ground, only a few inches away from where she was standing. She looked up, seeing that Maggie was covering her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh.

"No I didn't!" Maggie childishly called out while she grinned. Though Maggie normally stayed with her family in the farmhouse, she had found a great friend in Riley, liking to spend time with the young woman even though her father was sometimes being a bit difficult when it came to the group that was staying on their property.

Riley narrowed her eyes and picked up an apple, holding it as if she was going to swing it at her friend. "Don't you dare Riley!" Maggie said in warning, making Riley chuckle before she went over to the basket that was already half filled with apples.

"Don't look behind you, but a certain someone is coming over here." Maggie suddenly said in a hushed voice, making Riley frown at her friend in confusion. "It's.. you know." Maggie said suggestively, making Riley bite her lip while staring at her boots. It surprised her that Daryl was actually reaching out to her now, though she had no idea what the result of that might be. She had purposely been avoiding him the entire day since she didn't want to rub him the wrong way.

"Can we talk for a sec?" She suddenly heard the hunter say behind her and she quickly turned around.

"Uh, sure." She said before she looked up at Maggie, seeing her eying the two of them. "I'll be right back, okay?" She told her friend, who nodded.

The pair walked away and Maggie frowned as she watched them go. After Riley had told her that Daryl had freaked out on her, Maggie didn't really know what to think of the redneck anymore. His mood swings surely had to be a handful for Riley, thinking her friend really had picked herself one complicated guy.

As Riley was walking beside Daryl, she eyed the man a few times in order to have an idea what his current mood was. He was looking straight ahead, not making any eye contact with her and she frowned, looking away from him again. He could jump from agitated, to friendly, to angry in no time and she bit her lip as she thought that he probably wanted to talk about what happened in his tent this morning.

"So, what's up?" She asked as she had followed Daryl into the stables, out of sight from the others.

"What happened out there with you and Shane yesterday?" He suddenly blurted out. Okay, no more beatin' around the bush Dixon, that's for sure, he thought while he inwardly rolled his eyes.

"What? Uh nothing?" She said, completely caught off guard by his question. She had no idea that he actually wanted to know what'd happened in the woods.

"You sure? He said the two of ya had an argument," Daryl mentioned and Riley looked away from his eyes that were looking directly into hers, feeling uncomfortable to talk to him about it since it might eventually lead to him playing the lead role in the matter.

"He just uh.. well, he wanted to be more than friends and I told him no," she quickly said and Daryl's jaw tensed at her response. He knew Shane had an interest in Riley and the fact that the man had now acted on it made him flare up in anger.

He then looked back at her face, narrowing his eyes as he sensed that she wasn't telling him everything. "That was the argument?" He pressed on and she looked at him again, blushing a little.

"Well, he just assumed that I liked someone else. Then he ran down all the names and I got pissed at him for calling you a redneck. So he just, well you know.." she trailed off while lowering her eyes to the ground, feeling rather awkward to talk to Daryl about it, because in a way, she had made it obvious to Shane that she liked the hunter. She heard him sigh and looked up, seeing him pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Daryl didn't know if he actually wanted others to find out that he had a soft spot for the brunette. Heck, he didn't even know if he wanted her to know it either. This was what he'd always been avoiding, letting people come close.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked him and he looked into her big brown eyes, not knowing how the handle all the emotions he swore his saw swirling in her eyes.

"No." He eventually replied which made her frown.

Guess I have to make the first move on this one, don't I? She thought. "Is it about this morning?" She asked him and he looked away with a clear frown on his face, and Riley bit her lip as she watched his reaction. It made her go crazy that he never really voiced his thoughts to her. The fact that he just asked her about Shane was a surprise as well, she didn't know that he was thinking about it. Was he upset? Was he angry? Was he.. jealous?

"What happened this morning, it can't happen again." He suddenly said to her as he crossed his arms and she looked at him in surprise.

"What?"

"I said, it can't happen again."

"And what made you decide on that?" She asked him, not believing one word of it. He just asked her about Shane, he gave her hell when she went out alone, he let her sleep in his tent with him, he had even kissed her back, and now he was backing out?

Daryl's jaw tensed as he felt uncomfortable about the entire situation and stared off into the distance. "This shit ain't gonna be workin' out so it ain't worth startin' in the first place."

"This shit?" She said as she raised her eyebrow, actually offended about how he had called it. "You're kidding me, right?" She added and Daryl could clearly hear the sarcasm in her voice, making him look back at her.

"What'chu want me to do, spell it out for ya?" He glared at her but it didn't faze her one bit as she stepped right up to him. Normally she would let him be when he would get agitated with her, but not this time. This time she wasn't backing down.

"I want you to be honest with me," she said as she poked her finger against his chest, making him tense up a little.

"I ain't no fuckin' liar!" He spat out but she narrowed her eyes.

"Yes you are! You wanted it just as much as me! And then you got scared and you-"

"Fuck that, I ain't scared of shit!" He sneered.

"You are scared as hell that I might get too close!" She said and he scoffed, looking away again and Riley knew she had him there. The reason why he was acting out like this was because she was getting too close for comfort. But she realized that she needed to get through to him if she wanted this between them to work out.

"You might not let people in, but I sure as hell am not backing down." She firmly told him and he looked quite frustrated.

"Woman, what the fuck do ya want from me?"

"You! I just want you!" She nearly shouted in his face, causing him to flush since she'd been so direct about it. Deep down it made him feel something foreign and he certainly didn't like things he didn't understand.

"I ain't no fuckin' nice guy, I ain't like Shane or Rick. I ain't gonna change to be-" he started but stopped as he saw her roll her eyes at him. "Woman, don't ya be rollin' yer eyes at me!" He demanded and she blankly stared at him.

"I don't give a damn about the fact that you're not like Shane or Rick, and I never said that I wanted you to change, did I? Here you go again assuming things, just so you have a reason to back out." She mentioned and his jaw tensed since she had caught on to what he was doing. "Didn't I just tell you that I'm not even interested in Shane? He clearly got the message, why can't you!?"

He scoffed, looking away again. "Can't you just try and give me a chance? Can you trust me enough to give me that?" She asked, making him sigh since trusting people wasn't something he did very easily.

He looked back at her but she couldn't read the expression on his face and Riley was seriously holding back not to push herself against him, wanting to get some sense into him that she just wanted to be with him. He didn't need to change one thing about himself.

Why does he have to be so goddamn stubborn! She thought as she waited for some kind of response. She just needed some sort of sign from him that he wanted her too, some sort of indication that she had a chance on breaking through the walls he'd set up, even if it was just a small crack, she would take it.

She suddenly saw his eyes flicker briefly towards her lips before moving back to her eyes, making her wonder if he even realized it himself. She let out a breath and decided to just take the plunge, instantly closing the gap between them.

Daryl was taken aback by the sudden movement of her lips pressing against his, actually having to take a step back in surprise due to the force she used. His instincts were telling him to not let her get that close again, to not let them do this again before he got into deep and couldn't push her away anymore. He didn't want to need her, he didn't want to have her constantly on his mind. He should be on his own with no one to care for but himself. But the way her lips felt so damn good against his own made him let go of his restraints and kiss her back.

Riley gasped as his tongue quickly demanded access and she instantly pulled herself flush against him, wanting to feel him closer. Her arms went around his neck as he pushed her up against the wooden wall of the stables.

They both were breathing loudly, Daryl nipping the soft skin of her neck as Riley brushed her hands through his hair. After a moment, she pulled him back into a kiss, letting their tongues eagerly twirl around each other. His hands that were keeping her in place by her waist, slowly slid themselves lower to cup her butt, squeezing firmly and she gasped against his lips. He easily lifted her off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing him deeper into her body.

Riley quickly became to realize that Daryl had an animalistic side in him that was triggered by their make out sessions, clearly making him let go of all his restraints. He lightly pulled at her lower lip with his teeth, receiving a soft moan from Riley.

As Daryl was about to trail his hand underneath the back of her shirt to feel the soft skin there, they suddenly heard a few voices close by and their heads instantly pulled back from each other.

"Fuck." He cursed as it felt like a bucket of cold water had just fallen on his head. He moved his hands to her hips to keep her steady as she unwrapped her legs from his waist. The moment her feet touched the ground, he was about to pull away from her but Riley instantly grabbed onto his shirt with both hands, making him stop in his movements.

"I won't back down on this, " she firmly told him, realizing that she had to fight for it, but she knew it would be worth it.

Daryl looked into her eyes, thinking about what she said. He realized that he had possibly met his match in stubbornness. He had already been noticing it during those moments they'd spend time together that she had a habit of not doing what he said when she somehow could sense he didn't mean it. It was still a question to him as to how she was actually able to do that.

"Fine." He finally gave in, receiving a small smile of accomplishment from her. "Better not let it go to yer head, woman." He said as he narrowed his eyes at her while he placed his hands against the wall behind her, conveniently trapping her between him and the wall.

Riley cheekily bit her lower lip while she moved her hands from his shirt to his neck, clearly unfazed by his movement as she brushed her hands over his skin. That feeling alone already made Daryl want to touch her again but he did his best to refrain himself from doing so, keeping his palms flat on the wall behind her.

"It won't," she replied. "Now, I better get back to Maggie. She's probably wondering what we're doing." She added with an innocent smile on her face and Daryl flushed a bright shade of red as he realized what she had implied.

"What the fuck are ya tellin' her?" He demanded to know and Riley just chuckled.

"Nothing, don't worry." She said as she held up her hands in surrender. Really, this man is seriously so uptight, she thought as saw the way he was glaring at her. Before he realized it though, she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. "Bye," she smiled and ducked underneath his right arm, walking off.

Daryl glared at her retrieving form, brushing his hand through his hair.

What the fuck just happened?

That night when dinner was served, everyone got themselves into their own conversations. Shane and Daryl hadn't talked to each other since their fight but both were keen on not being the first one to apologize.

Riley hadn't spoken to Shane either, and she had been sensing his stare throughout dinner which made her feel uncomfortable. It seemed as if he was trying to figure out what exactly was going on between her and Daryl after the talk they had with each other in the woods.

Meanwhile, Daryl hadn't made it obvious but he was also aware of the occasional glances Shane had given him and the woman sitting next to him. It made his anger flare up again, but he tried to refrain himself from lashing out at the ex-cop again. He briefly glanced at Riley, sensing that she was feeling uncomfortable as she was just staring at her plate.

He looked up again, seeing that Shane was still looking at her, and his jaw tensed because the man was making Riley feel fucking uncomfortable. Shane suddenly looked straight at him and Daryl narrowed his eyes at him. Shane gave him a surprised look when he realized he'd been caught and looked back at his plate.

Yeah you better look away asshole, Daryl thought.

"Daryl? Do you want some more eggs?" Riley's voice suddenly cut through his train of thoughts and he looked down at his plate, seeing that he already ate his entire meal while not even being aware of it. He nodded, giving Riley his plate and watched her walk off to Carol.

After dinner, Dale was on watch with Andrea while Riley helped Lori and Carol with the dishes. Daryl was in his tent while Glenn had snuck off again in search for Maggie.

"Shane, I need to talk to you for a sec." Rick said to his friend as Shane was sitting in a lawn chair.

"Sure man, what's up?" Shane asked as Rick pulled up a chair.

"What is your deal with Riley?" Rick asked him straight up front since he'd noticed that his friend had taken a liking in the young woman.

"Huh, what? Nothing." Shane quickly replied, acting surprised.

"Don't lie to me Shane, I know you. You've been staring at her throughout dinner and that whole walk through the woods yesterday isn't something you do with everyone." Rick said, stating the obvious and Shane sighed while he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Okay.. shit. I like her.. I mean I know she's young and all but.. I just decided to act upon it and was turned down." He said before he made a face."She's into the redneck." He grumbled and looked away.

It stayed silent for a moment which made Shane look back at Rick since the latter didn't say anything. He saw on the man's face that he knew more that he was letting on, and suddenly it hit him. "You knew?" He asked accusingly and Rick lowered his eyes to the ground.

"I had my suspicions."

"Fuck man."

"But you stay out of his way, Shane. You were already pissing him off during dinner. I don't want there to be any trouble starting in this group. We need him and you know it," Rick said and Shane scoffed.

Rick sighed at his friend's reaction before he stood up. "Just let her go." He said and walked away, leaving his friend sitting there with a frown on his face.

Eventually Shane lowered his head in defeat. Who ever thought a redneck could earn a second glance from a woman like her? He thought.

Lori had seen the conversation between the two men, quickly making her way over to her husband the moment he walked away from Shane to ask him what'd happened.

"Isn't she a bit young for either of them?" She said to Rick after he'd told her what was going on as they walked over to their tent.

"It's her life, Lori."

"But still Rick.. Daryl? That man is a loose cannon."

"We'll just see how it goes," Rick mentioned as they entered their tent.

When it was close to midnight, Dale and Andrea had switched places with Daryl on top of the caravan since he had volunteered to take watch for a few hours so they could get some sleep.

As he sat down on the lawn chair, he saw Riley gave him her usual smile and wave as she was standing in front of her tent, ready to go to bed. Before she stepped into her tent though, he noticed that she mouthed something to him but he couldn't figure out what she was trying to say. He shook his head in puzzlement before she pointed her thumb to the side but he still wasn't understanding what she meant.

As he frowned at her in confusion, she just shook her head, smiling at him again before she walked into her tent.

Fuck, she always gets me curious, he thought with a sigh.

After a few minutes of sitting on top of the caravan, the hunter saw all of the tents' lights go out one by one, noticing the last one that was turned off was in Riley's tent. As everyone was now sleeping, he looked up at the sky, seeing the stars shining brightly above him. It was a good opportunity to clear his head. His life used to be so simple with his brother, especially with the dead coming back to life. Just shoot and kill, hunt and survive. Now everything was different. His brother was missing, Carol's daughter was still nowhere to be found and Riley showing up the way she did. He had no idea how to deal with her, heck, just women in general were clearly not one of his expertise. She was breaking down the walls he'd been building around him for so many years and she'd made it pretty clear that she wasn't going to back down.

Stubborn woman, he thought as he shook his head.

After three hours, Daryl switched places with T-Dog, feeling dead tired by all the thoughts that were spinning around in his mind. He quietly walked back over to his tent, quickly getting in and zipping close the entrance of his tent. He took off his clothes, leaving him in his boxers, and threw them on a pile to the side.

As he turned around though, he froze by what he saw in front of him. There was Riley fast asleep on the ground. Wait, did I get into the wrong tent or somethin'? He thought as he quickly looked around and reassured himself that he was indeed standing in his own tent. He quietly walked over to the woman laying in his sleeping bag and crouched down beside her.

"Riley.. hey, woman," he whispered while he gently nudged her shoulder.

"Hmm?" She replied, being still very much asleep.

"What are ya doin' in my tent?" He asked her in a hushed voice.

"Sleeping, like I told you earlier." She tiredly replied and reached behind her, pulling at his hand. "Come.. sleep."

Told me? What the hell is she talkin' about? He thought in confusion, frowning as he looked at the entrance of his tent, wondering if anyone had seen her come in. Heck, he'd just been on watch and he hadn't even seen her coming in. He looked back at the woman laying comfortably in his sleeping bag, seeing her hand hadn't moved away from his wrist and he contemplated on what to do. He shouldn't do this, it would be letting her in.

But deep inside of him, he wanted this. He wanted to be needed by someone, he wanted someone to care. Nobody had ever given a shit about him and he always believed he was fine with that, he didn't need anyone. But here she was, the woman who kept pushing against his boundaries. She actually told him right in his face that she wouldn't be backing down. He had never experienced that sort of thing before in his whole life. Nobody ever tried, but here she was, doing just that.

He sighed but eventually gave into her pulling and slipped into the sleeping bag with her. Riley pressed her back into his chest as soon as he was laying beside her, pulling his arm around her waist, purposely placing them in a spooning position. It felt strange to him, since he had never done this before. The last time she'd been in his bed, he was so tired he probably wouldn't even hear a herd enter camp. When he woke up and noticed their position, he had quickly pulled away his arm. But now, he was clearly aware of their position, and though it felt foreign, it was far from being uncomfortable.

After a few minutes Riley had already fallen back to sleep again and Daryl propped himself onto his elbow, staring at the woman laying beside him. He slowly brushed away a stray of her hair that was in her face and looked at her, not understanding what she saw in him. She could have chosen Shane, who, even though he was a jackass and God knows what he'd done when they first got here, would've probably been a better man for her than he could ever be. So why did she want him?

He frowned at the thought while staring off to the side. This shit and self-doubt was messing up his mind. He didn't deserve a woman like her.

"Women are only good for fuckin', man. No need to be walkin' around caterin' to their asses." Merle's harsh voice entered his mind. Daryl had always thought like that too, get in, and get out. But if he was honest to himself, he'd never felt like doing that with Riley.

He sighed, laying back down again and Riley mumbled something before she turned around, pressing herself into his side. He looked at her again while frowning as he felt her hand brush over his bare chest, making him tense a little before relaxing again. For some reason, she was completely comfortable in his presence and subconsciously seeking him out in her sleep.

He thought about it for a moment before he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer against him. He closed his eyes while he breathed in the scent of her hair and quickly fell asleep.

That morning though, Riley woke up in Daryl's tent alone. She frowned, looking around before she suddenly noticed that his crossbow was gone along with his backpack. She bit her lip, wondering if she'd perhaps been too direct last night and it'd made him run off. She didn't understand what came over her to just sleep inside his tent in the first place; she'd just acted on instinct.

She quickly got up and pulled on the pair of jeans she had thrown on the ground at the end of his sleeping bag yesterday and stepped into her boots. She carefully looked around when she was about to step out of Daryl's tent and saw Andrea, T-Dog and Shane discussing something near the cars, even seeing Jimmy standing there beside them as well.

She looked at the caravan, seeing Rick talking with Dale and quickly got out of the tent before making her way over to the two men.

"Good morning." Rick said as he saw her nearing them.

"Morning. Did you see where Daryl went off to?" She quickly asked him, not beating around the bush.

"We were just discussing tactics for our search. He said he would go looking for Sophia on a horse," he told her and she frowned.

"Okay, thanks." She said before she turned around and started to walk into the direction of the stables. Rick and Dale watched her go before they looked at each other.

"Is she going with him?" Dale asked.

"No, I don't think he would let her do that." Rick said as he watched Riley nearing the horse stables. He knew there was something going on between her and Daryl but decided not to say anything. He already had his own problems with Lori to deal with.

In the stables, Daryl was fastening the saddle on a horse he had found suitable for his search, his mind so occupied that he hadn't even heard the soft footsteps coming towards him.

"Hey." He suddenly heard a familiar voice say behind him and he quickly turned around, seeing the woman who had been invading his thoughts so heavily that he wasn't even aware of his surroundings. "Rick told me you're going to look for Sophia on a horse?" She mentioned and he nodded. "Are you sure it's all right to go alone?"

"I'll be fine," he gruffly answered, turning his back at her again while adjusting the saddle of the horse standing in front of him.

Riley stared at his back as he was tightening the belts of the saddle around the horse, knowing better than to openly express her concerns towards him. He wouldn't be the type of man that would like to hear that. He could take care of himself.

"Okay, well... be careful," she said and he just grunted in reply, not saying anything more. Riley frowned as she stood there awkwardly behind him, having no idea on what to say to him. She was a bit put out by the fact that if she hadn't woken up by the time she did, he might have already left. But she guessed that he probably didn't realize that she might be worried about him. She wondered if he even noticed such things in the first place. He wasn't really a man who would openly confess his affections to her and she tried to lay low on those things as well for him so she wouldn't scare him off.

Daryl suddenly sighed and turned around facing the brunette "While I'm gone just.. just be careful around Shane. You don't know half of his story." He said, making Riley frown in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked him and he sighed again, contemplating if he should express the concerns he'd been having from day one on this camp. "Daryl?"

"Look, in the beginnin' when we got here, Carl accidently got shot by that blonde woman's husband that lives on the farm," he told her and her eyes widened.

"What? Carl got shot?! And Patricia had a hus-"

"Just listen woman," he grumbled and she nodded. "Anyways, half of the group was still on the highway where Sophia disappeared. Otis, he went with Shane on this run to get meds and shit for Carl, but Shane was the only one who got back."

"So, what are you saying?"

"I ain't sayin' anythin', just that ya gotta be careful aroun' him. Ever since he got back from that trip he's been different. The funeral had been fuckin' awkward, his speech makin' no sense at all."

Riley bit her lip, not really knowing what to think of that story. "Do you think that he might've left that guy there or something?" She asked and Daryl shrugged. "That's insane, Daryl."

"I know, but still.. keep it in mind." He told her and she nodded.

They stared at each other after that, both not really knowing what to say next. "I'll best get goin'," he then said and she nodded again, staring at the ground. He turned around and was about to get on the horse, but her voice stopped his movements.

"Come back safe," she softly said to him since she had no idea when he would come back. He sighed while he looked in front of him. No one had ever actually shown concern for him and here she was, doing just that.

He decided that since he would probably not see her for a while, he should just act on what his instincts were telling him. He turned around, seeing her brown eyes looking at him in a way he still couldn't comprehend, but without thinking about it for long, he suddenly leaned in and kissed her.

The moment his lips touched hers, Riley closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. He wrapped his arms around her as well, enveloping her in his warmth. It was the first time that he had actually initiated their kiss and it hit her that she didn't know when he would be back, thinking that it felt awfully close to a goodbye. She tried to hold back the tears she felt pricking in her eyes and pressed herself deeper into his chest, relishing in their kiss.

"Riley? Riley are you back here?" The pair suddenly heard Carl call out in the distance and Daryl stiffened, quickly stepping away from the woman in front of him. He briefly met her eyes before he turned around and got up on the horse.

"You better get back soon. I'm still counting on those crossbow lessons you promised me." He heard her say and looked down at her, seeing she was giving him a small smile and he curtly nodded.

"See ya later." He said as he looked at her one last time before riding off. Riley frowned as she saw him leave, hoping he would be all right out there.

"Rileeyyyy?!" She heard Carl call out to her again, now sounding a lot closer.

"In here!"

"Hey, what were you doing?" Carl asked as he rounded the corner and spotted Riley closing the gate of a stable.

"Daryl just got himself a horse; he's going to look for Sophia again." She told him as she turned around to face to boy.

"I hope he finds her... I really miss her," Carl said with a frown on his face and Riley squeezed his shoulders in comfort.

"C'mon, let's go fill up some water bottles." She said and he smiled up at her. "And no more water bombing me, Carl!" She added as she raised her eyebrow at him when she noticed the look of mischief on his face and Carl laughed out loud.

~ TWD ~

A/N: This was probably the longest chapter I have written so far; I hope you all liked it. As you might've noticed, I'm now going to follow the storyline of the show a bit more, so some happenings will be familiar. But of course I will also make up my own stuff as well. I had to fit Riley into the group first and I thought it wouldn't be very realistic to just have it all be done in one day.

I noticed a few more followers & people favoring my story which is great, thanks so much! Also the people who left a review, you're awesome, I really appreciate it. Thanks for reading everyone!