Not Her Chapter 10, a walking dead fanfic

A/N It's Friday! Happy day to all and thank you so much. You guys always make my day. We had a major breakthrough last chapter when Beth told Daryl to kiss her and he did :) We're picking up that same summer.

Do you remember this fic all started with a song prompt? Some of you had it figured right away, first chapter. More of you will figure it out this chapter. That's right, I finally made it to the second verse. If you don't know it, don't worry. I'll tell all at the end. Thanks again to the lovely Lotus11 for prompting me.

Daryl was now 15 years old and Beth 13. This fall when school started the changes in their lives would be even bigger than usual. Everything was going to be different and not just that one big difference. The one where they now considered themselves girlfriend and boyfriend.

Daryl was beginning his first year of high school and as usual he was anxious, not excited, nervous. He knew these were the years that really counted and the pressure was on. What would he do when he graduated? What was he going to do with his life?

Sheesh, being a kid was so much easier.

And he worried about Beth. She was going into middle school and that was a whole new world. He knew how it was, that's when kids started splitting up into those cliques. That kind of shit didn't bother him one bit, screw em all. But Beth was softer, more sensitive. He never wanted her feeling left out.

And the guys, he was nervous about that too. They'd have sprouted up over the summer and they'd be going through that thing. That thing where they noticed girls more. Her look had changed and her body had changed and he knew those boys were going to notice those changes. Just like he did.

He just wished he and Beth were going to be at the same school.

Beth was far more anxious than Daryl. The idea of going to middle school had been making her nervous all summer. What if she didn't have the right clothes? Or the right "look"? What if the other girls didn't like her? What about the boys? She'd heard middle school boys could be loud and obnoxious.

As nervous as she was about starting middle school, she was even more nervous about Daryl starting high school. She knew he felt some kind of pressure to have his whole life figured out already. She wished he wouldn't worry so much because she knew, Daryl could do anything he put his mind to.

There were also those high school girls to think about. They looked like grownup women for gosh sake. Their bodies were more shapely than hers, and what if Daryl thought they were pretty? What if he liked those older girls?

She wished so hard that she and Daryl could be at the same school.

The bright spot was they'd still be riding the same bus home. The high school was on the street behind the elementary and middle schools. The kids who rode the buses home caught them at the elementary. They already had it all planned out, he'd hurry over to the middle school as soon as the bell rang and they'd walk to the bus pick up area together.

He took her hand and tried to reassure her, "I'll have Merle drop me off at the elementary in the mornins, so I can say 'hi' to ya first thing when ya get off the bus, k? You'll see Beth, it's all gonna be just fine." He wished he felt as confident about that as he sounded.

It was just about a week before school started. Just like always Merle drove him to Greene's that morning on his way to work. But Beth wasn't on the front porch waiting for him. Of course Merle just had to be Merle and say something, "Aw, where's your pretty little girlfriend? How come she ain't waitin' on ya?"

Daryl wasn't arguing anymore, he just looked at his brother and said, "Shut up an go ta work Merle." Then he sort of, kind of, slammed the pickup door. Not too hard, Merle was still bigger.

And now he was worried. Where was she? Maybe it was that monthly thing, damn, he wished he had some chocolate for her. All he had was a half roll of Lifesavers in his pocket. They probably wouldn't help a bit.

He'd been worrying over her all morning and it was just before lunch when he finally saw her. He was in the utility shed working on Mister Hershel's air compressor. It was obvious she hadn't known he'd be in there because she took one look at him and said, "Oh no!"

He didn't know what was wrong, but it was something. She looked sad or mad, he wasn't sure which, maybe both. She was holding her hand up like she was trying to cover her chin. "What? Ya mad at me or sumthin'? What'd I do? I ain't even seen ya all mornin', an why ya got your hand there like that?"

He thought she might start crying and she looked so shook. He hurried over to her thinking maybe she'd gotten hurt, "Tell me what's wrong Beth. Tell me now."

She wouldn't look in his eyes she just said, "I don't want to tell you and I don't want you to see. It's too ugly."

"Fuck that Beth. Did someone hurt ya? I swear I'll kill whoever done it." He'd been worried and now he was getting aggravated.

"No Daryl no, it's nothing like that, I promise."

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled just a little, not really enough to move her hand, just enough to let her know he wanted to, "What is it then Beth? Tell me. Please."

She started moving her hand down real slow and in a sad little voice she told him, "I have a pimple."

He almost started laughing but something told him that would be all kinds of wrong. She'd get pissed at him for sure. "Lemme see." He looked at her chin and he was thinking it was no big deal. "That ain't nuthin' girl. I can hardly see it."

"You're just being nice is all. It's gross and I look ugly."

He put his hands on her shoulders and said, "Look at me Beth." She didn't really want to, she was sure all he'd see was that big nasty pimple, but she did what he asked.

Who knows what came over him then? Who knows how he knew the words he should say? But thank God he did. "Ya know the first time I ever seen ya was when ya opened your Mama's kitchen door. I remember ya hollered, 'Mama Daryl's here.' It was all I could do ta take my eyes off ya. I knew for sure, you was always gonna be the prettiest girl I'd ever see."

"Really?"

"Well I ain't gonna lie about sumthin' that important am I? Yeah, really. He gave her a quick kiss and asked, "Ya want a Lifesaver? Will that help?"

Now she was smiling too, "Sure, if you have a cherry one then I know it will."

He smiled as he handed her the candy, "Now how did I know that?"

She smiled as she popped it in her mouth, "Thank you Daryl, you're so sweet."

"Pfft, no I ain't. Anyway what're ya doin' out here?"

She laughed just a little then and it seemed all was right with the world, "I almost forgot, I'm looking for Daddy. The farm insurance man called and Mama said she needs to ask Daddy a question."

"He said sumthin' about mendin' some wire on the chicken coops."

"Alright, I'll find him. See you at lunch." She smiled that big soft pretty smile and he hurried and leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

That Saturday was their last day together before school started and they were spending the afternoon walking the woods. They had their bows and they figured they'd shoot a rabbit or a squirrel if they happened to run into one, but that wasn't really what this time was about. It was really just about them and being together.

He was holding her hand and she asked him, "I can't decide what to wear for the first day of school. Should I wear that blue dress with the little yellow flowers or the pink gingham? Which do think?"

He couldn't help it, he laughed, "Shit Beth, whaddya think I know about that kinda stuff? Shouldn't ya be askin' your Mama them kinds a questions?"

"I'm not trying to make Mama happy Daryl, I want to know what you like best. It's you I want to look pretty for."

He stopped and set his bow down, then he took hers and set it down, then he put his arms around her. He held her real close for a minute, then he inched back just enough so he could kiss her. But there was something different about this kiss.

He hadn't really planned it that way, it was just that it happened like that and well, he liked it. If felt good. It gave him that warm feeling and he knew what was happening to him, his body was reacting to her. It seemed to happen all the time when he was around Beth.

He hoped she wasn't mad at him for doing what he was doing, sticking his tongue right in her mouth that way, but she wasn't fighting him. She was sticking her tongue in his mouth right back. And he could feel it, it was like they'd moved even closer together. Everything about the two of them holding each other that way, and kissing each other like that, it seemed so perfect.

Eventually though they had to breathe. He still felt like he needed more air when he told her, "Sorry Beth, ya ain't mad at me for doin' that are ya?"

She seemed a little breathless too, "No. I always thought that kind of kissing sounded so gross and slobbery, and it probably would be with some other boy. But not with you Daryl. I liked it with you. I liked it a lot."

"Can we kiss like that some more then?" He was smiling but his neck and ears were bright red and she was sure her cheeks were too, "Yes."

They didn't stop again until they both had sore lips. Once they'd caught their breath she said, "You never answered my question."

He was so serious looking, while he was absentmindedly brushing back the stray strands of blond curls from her face, "I always have liked it real well when ya wear pink." That was something he never thought he would ever admit to anyone, but it was the truth so that's what he said.

"Really? I thought you hated pink."

"I do except when you wear it. It looks real pretty on you."

He saw her cheeks turn a real deep shade of pink and she had that big pretty smile on her face and she leaned up on her toes and kissed him, saying, "Thank you Daryl." That was another thing he used to think he'd never admit to her or anyone else, how pretty he thought she was. Now he thought it was probably a real good idea to let her know it all the time.

The very first morning of school he talked Merle into taking him just a little early. Sure, he had to put up with Merle's usual bullshit, "What is it kid? Ya ain't seen that pretty little blond since way long ago on Saturday, an now you're havin' withdrawls?"

And just like that he said it, he admitted it right there in his brother's Dodge pickup truck, "Yeah, as matter a fact I do miss her. I wanna be there at the elementary when the school bus drops her off."

To his surprise his brother just laughed a little and said, "Well shit I better give it the gas then. I don't want ya bein' late for that."

She got off the bus and hurried over to where he was waiting, but they knew they couldn't give each other even a hug there at school. What he could do was something they both liked real well, he took her hand. He smiled and said, "C'mon girl, I'll walk ya ta school."

He'd talked to Merle and Mister Hershel about it and they were all in agreement, Industrial Arts was probably where he would be happiest and also excel. Merle had clapped him on the back and told him, "Ya wasn't but nine or ten when ya about had that bike a mine tore down an put back together. I never saw anythin' like it. Ya got a knack for anythin' with an engine an anythin' mechanical."

And Mister Hershel agreed, "Daryl I've never come up with one thing at the farm you couldn't figure out how to fix. It's a talent, a gift you were given. I can't see any reason to turn your back on it."

He had to take all the academic courses like math, English and history, but he still managed to fit in two shop classes that first semester. Auto shop and metal shop. He'd already decided that before he graduated he would take every kind of shop class they had.

Each day when the bell rang he'd hustle over to the middle school just as fast as his feet could carry him, usually arriving just about the time she was walking out those double doors. After a day of classes he couldn't think of anything he'd like seeing more than he liked seeing that soft girl, with her soft hair and her soft eyes and that big soft smile.

They were both still spending most any free time they had working on that truck. Even when she wasn't doing the mechanics Beth was doing something. Her Mama had helped her make a pattern and she was determined to make a cover for the big bench seat. Daryl had teased her when she first mentioned it, "It ain't gonna be pink is it?"

She managed to keep a straight face when she said, "Well yes but not solid pink, there's big white polka dots too."

He almost dropped his wrench, "Go on now ya crazy girl, you're gonna make me screw sumthin' up."

She amazed him though, she'd caught on to it all real well. He'd showed her how to change a tire, change the oil and the filter, change the air filter and put on new belts. "Maybe when ya get ta high school ya oughta forget takin' all them home ec classes an take shop courses instead."

"I just might do that."

When November rolled around Merle took off early one day and took him to the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles to get a learner's permit. They both thought it was pretty ridiculous, Daryl had known how to drive for as long as either of them could remember. But like Merle told him, rules were rules and they wouldn't let him get his driver's license without six months of driving experience with an adult over 21.

The good things about it were he got to drive Merle's truck as far as school in the mornings, and whenever Merle or Karen had to go somewhere they'd let him drive them. The Missus and Mister Hershel had always let him drive various rigs and equipment around the farm, but now the Missus also let him practice in her car. Just out there on the rural roads around the farm, but it was driving.

What he really cared about was getting that pickup running right. It wasn't just that he wanted his own rig and the independence that came with that. He wanted to take Beth on a real date, just the two of them. In the mean-time Merle and Karen had started taking him and Beth both out with them on Friday evenings, while the Missus and Mister Hershel watched Evie.

They'd go to the movies and him and Beth would sit just as far away from his brother and sister in law as they possibly could. They'd slide down real far in their seats, hold hands and kiss when they thought no one was looking.

When they all went bowling it was a little tougher, there just wasn't any real privacy in the bowling alley. But on those pitch black rural highways on the way back to the farm, that's when he'd try real hard to be sneaky, so he could kiss that soft little blond.

Some big changes happened at Christmas. The best one being Evie. She was walking around like a champ now. Daryl loved how proud she was of herself. He loved everything about that little girl. He especially got a kick out of how she'd try to run and she'd laugh and then clap her chubby little hands together. He couldn't resist picking her up and twirling her around, "What Evie? What ya gonna do? Ya gonna be a track star some day?" She'd just laugh more and he had to hug her. Evie and Beth were the two prettiest, sweetest and softest girls he knew.

The other thing was Beth's sister Maggie came home for Christmas and she announced some big news. She told her Mama and Daddy she had a boyfriend and they were in love. He saw the concerned look on her Daddy's face when he started asking Maggie a million questions about that guy, "Well now who is this boy? What's his name and where's he from? How long have you known him? Does he work? What does he plan to do after college?"

It made him wonder if Mister Hershel and the Missus were going to be upset when he asked Beth on a date. Did they think maybe he wasn't good enough? He worried over it quite a bit after that.

Maggie though, nothing seemed to worry her and she didn't ever back down. She just smiled when her Daddy asked those questions and she told him everything. "And Daddy, I already invited him to come here for a visit next summer, you can quiz him all you want then."

By Merle's 26th birthday the truck was done, ready to drive and Daryl was more than ready to drive it. But there were still two weeks before his 16th birthday. Merle went out to the farm with him and they drove that truck all over those backroads. The problem was he couldn't bring Beth. He was only allowed to have one licensed driver with him in the vehicle, no passengers.

Merle wouldn't let him risk it and he and Beth had agreed they didn't want to. It was getting too close and they didn't want to take a chance he'd get caught by the sheriff. They both wanted him driving.

He'd asked her, "Once I get my license are ya gonna let me take ya out, just you an me?"

"Daryl you know I am. I'm your girlfriend, of course I want to go out with you."

So he asked her Daddy if it was alright. Mister Hershel he had a rule, she couldn't go out with a boy until she was 15. She would be 14 two weeks after Daryl turned 16. But her Daddy said, "I wouldn't say yes to any boy but you Daryl. I know I can trust you to be extra cautious when she's in the pickup, and I know you won't try any monkey business."

Daryl felt guilty right away. Her Daddy would hate him for sure if he knew about him sticking his tongue right in Beth's mouth. He'd better pray to God Mister Hershel never found out.

The other person he had to talk to was Merle. His brother still never wanted him in a situation where he, or he and Beth, were alone. He practically begged, "C'mon man I'ma be 16. Shit why do I gotta have a chaperone? It ain't fair."

"You're right kid, you're too old ta have a babysitter an it ain't fair. But I know ya know why. If I didn't think it had ta be that way all these years, it wouldn't have been. I'll think about, I'll talk ta Karen about it. We'll decide by tomorrow."

He couldn't believe it when his brother told him the big news, "Yes." He and Beth got to have their date.

The young couple were so excited they could hardly control themselves. They made their plan. He'd pick her up at the farm Saturday night and they'd start off having dinner. Burgers, fries and milkshakes. They sat next to each other in the booth and he remembered when he used to think she always sat too close. That she squished him. Now he thought they couldn't get quite close enough and he was the one squishing into her.

He watched her eat those damn fries the way she did and he couldn't help but laugh, "You are one strange girl Beth Greene."

"Oh yeah, well I happen to think you like strange girls Daryl Dixon."

He smiled at her, softly nudging his shoulder into hers and said, "Yeah I do."

From there they went over to the Picture Show movie theater. It was only two blocks and it would have made sense to just walk. Except that he was on his first official date, he was a 16 year old boy with a pickup truck, and he had that brand new license to drive it. They drove over and pulled around in the alley behind the theater, parked it and headed in for the movie.

They'd picked a scary one and just like he hoped it would, it sacred Beth enough that she was getting just as close to him as that stupid armrest would allow. He was holding her hand and watching her as much as the movie, and every once in awhile he'd lean in and give her a fast kiss.

They had a plan for after the movie too. They were going to cruise the main drag for a little while, just to show off his new pickup, but more important than that, to prolong the evening.

They were holding hands, smiling and nudging shoulders as they walked around to the alley and Daryl made to unlock the pickup door. That's when it happened, that son of a bitch grabbed Beth and he had a gun held to her head.

Daryl had never seen Beth look so frightened but he was sure he was even more scared than her. He knew what the man was capable of. He held his hands up, "No, not her. C'mon Dad, not her." He quickly dug his hand in his pocket as he talked fast, "Here, here take my wallet. I got money in there, more'n fifty bucks. An here, here's the keys ta my truck here, it's yours. An look here, Merle just give me this watch for my birthday, it's yours, here take it. You can have it all, just don't hurt her, not her, not Beth."

"Ya little fucker I shoulda killed ya a long time ago. Fuckin' hittin' me like ya done. I'll give ya one thing, that's alotta balls for a seven year old. I bet this little gal here owns your balls now, huh? You're such a candy ass you're just gonna give up everythin' for her? Fuckin' loser is what ya are, that's all ya ever was an all yer ever gonna be."

"You're right. I get it, I'm a loser an I deserve ta get the shit beat outta me. Go on then an do what ya gotta do. Just please, please don't hurt her, not her. Ya go ahead now, ya kill me if ya need to."

It all happened so fast. Beth cried, "No Daryl!" And suddenly she was on the ground, and just as Daryl was trying to get to her he took a hard right to his jaw. The old man was on him, beating the crap out of him but all he could think about was Beth. Was she okay?

Then he heard her, "Stop! Stop! Leave him alone! Stop!"

Daryl was fighting back but the old man was bigger, bulkier, angrier and he'd gotten the drop on Daryl. Plus he was no doubt high on speed, giving him that almost super hero kind of strength, and anger. It seemed to go on forever but Daryl didn't care, as long as his Dad was hitting him he wasn't hurting Beth.

He'd just had that thought when he realized she'd thrown herself on his Dad's back. He could see she was pulling his hair and beating on his back and all the while she kept yelling, "You let him go! Let him go!"

He was trying to tell her, "Run Beth, run," but the warm liquid was filling his mouth and he could taste and smell copper. He had a vague realization it was his own blood.

And then he heard his brother's voice, "Get offa there girl!" And suddenly his father was off him and Daryl heard his brother say, "Ya goddamn muthafucker I'ma kill ya right here."

Then it was Beth, she was taking his hand in both of hers and he could hear that soft voice say his name, "Daryl, Daryl." And he was out.

A/N Well then. It all started out the way we like, then it got rough there at the end. That's where we'll pick up next week. I thank you all so much for reading, for the follows and faves. I hope you'll leave a comment / review. There's a chapter photo of our favorite couple on my tumblr blogs gneebee and bethylmethbrick. Please check it out. I hope to see you all back her next week for more of Not Her. Until then remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee