Chapter Eleven: Loner

The three days that Rick gave Beth came and went without any change. Beth had kept her eyes and ears open for any funny business, but Spencer appeared to by laying low and keeping to himself.

Beth felt frustrated, mostly with herself. Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe she missed something.

Feeling foolish, she walked along the outskirts of the community, heading towards the gardens that Deanna and a few others tended. She liked sitting over there and would sometimes pick flowers for herself or for Maggie.

Sitting down in the grassy lawn, she fiddled with some dandelions. She plucked one and blew its seeds, watching them drift in the wind.

When she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, she smiled when she saw that Deanna was heading her way. The older woman wore an old gardening hat to shield her eyes from the bright sun.

"Hello, Beth," Deanna said as she came to a stop.

"Hi," Beth returned, still twirling a puffy flower between her fingers.

"Why are you sitting out here all alone?"

Beth shrugged, looking away. "I just wanted some time to think."

"What do you have on your mind?" Deanna asked, sitting down.

"Just things."

Deanna smiled. "My boy Spencer, he goes off to think by himself too. I think he gets that from his father."

Beth flickered a look at the older woman, not sure what to say.

"I know there's some friction between your group and him," Deanna continued. "He's a good man deep down. But after a while, livin' this way, everyone changes."

Beth nodded mutely, her gaze now flickering to the pale scars on her wrists.

"That's why I'm glad we have this place," Deanna said, looking around. "People might change, but Alexandria will last."

"Do you really think so?" Beth asked.

Deanna nodded. "That's what I hope for. I believe this life won't last, so we might as well live in as much comfort as we can."

"I hope so," Beth whispered, picking at the grass now. Then she looked up to meet Deanna's kind gaze. "Why doesn't your son trust Rick?"

Deanna sighed deeply. "Spencer and I haven't had it easy, despite being here. I have to choose who gets to stay and who has to go, and mistakes have been made. Spencer is just a little wary is all."

Beth frowned slightly.

Deanna didn't miss the look on Beth's face. "Is there something else, something you're not telling me?"

"Oh no… No. It's just…" Beth sighed. "We're a little wary too."

Deanna nodded again. "I understand. Don't worry about Spencer, Beth. He's just…lonely."

Beth considered that when Deanna stood and bid her goodbye before walking back where she came from.

Ooo0ooO

When Beth started walking back to the house, she spotted a figure walking along the wall that guarded the safe-zone from the outside. She recognized Spencer by the way he moved and cautiously stepped around the corner of a house so she could watch him.

Spencer kept walking slowly, kicking the loose gravel with the toe of his boot. His gaze stayed lowered and his hands were in his pockets. He whistled softly and tunelessly.

He's just…lonely.

Beth's brow furrowed as Deanna's earlier words came back to her. Was he lonely because of the family he lost? Did something else happen that she didn't know about?

She felt an odd tug in her chest and wondered if some part of her sympathized with him. Maybe they were wrong about him, maybe he did have the community's best interests at heart. After all, Spencer wasn't the only person Beth knew who acted out his distrust to outsiders.

Leaning against the stucco wall, Beth kept watching him silently.

When a hand touched her shoulder, she flinched but didn't scream. She turned and had her knife poised at the person's throat within the span of a heartbeat.

Daryl appraised her with silent blue eyes.

Beth relaxed, lowering her knife and putting it back into the sheath. "Daryl," she scolded in a low voice, scowling. "Why are you sneakin' up on me?"

"C'mon," Daryl said, taking her hand to lead her away from her hiding spot.

Still scowling, Beth followed him quietly as they headed back towards the house.

Daryl stopped once they were both on the porch and turned to face her. "What were you doin'?"

"Nothing," Beth stated flatly, crossing her arms.

"Mm-hm."

"Nothing!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "I was just watching him."

"It's been three days, Beth."

She narrowed her eyes. "I know."

"Rick wants some answers."

"There's nothing to say," Beth said, turning away from him. "I guess I was wrong."

"You sure?"

Beth shrugged, but didn't answer.

Daryl sighed before stepping closer to her. He tugged her ponytail and frowned a little when she pulled away from him.

Beth faced him again and exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I was being stupid. I shouldn't have assumed Spencer was up to somethin'."

"Better to be safe…" Daryl trailed off, reaching out to play with her ponytail.

Beth leaned into his hand when it caressed her cheek. "Deanna says he's just wary. And…"

"And?"

Beth met Daryl's gaze. "And that he's lonely."

Daryl's brow lifted but he didn't say anything.

"Do you think that's true?" Beth asked him, placing her hands on his chest. She picked at his leather vest. "That he's just watchin' out for everyone in his own way?"

"What do you think?" Daryl asked.

Beth shook her head. "I dunno."

Daryl sighed quietly before drawing her against him, placing his chin on top of her head. Beth pressed herself against him, closing her eyes. She felt herself relax as he rubbed her back in soothing circles.

Ooo0ooO

He knew she had been watching him. He spotted her from far away with her bright blonde hair and had nearly laughed when she had ducked behind a house to spy on him.

Spencer Monroe was many things, but a fool wasn't one of them.

He kept walking along the outer walls, keeping constant vigilance over the lookout points.

He knew that Rick Grimes and his group already suspected him of plotting something, and he didn't care. Let them confront him. He had nothing to hide.

He smirked to himself.

Growing up, he had never played his cards close to his chest. He never saw the fun in hiding and plotting and scheming. There was only action in his world and this one, since it was either kill or be killed.

Sure, that had led him to a quiet, solitary life, but he preferred that to creating emotional ties to others. Ties could be broken. All he had was his mother. He acknowledged that, but she saw the world in a naïve sort of way. He could never see it the way she did.

When the Grimes group had entered Alexandria, he had smelled trouble from a mile away. Maybe not from the little blonde or the nervous Father Gabriel who had tucked himself away somewhere quiet in the safe-zone, but his warning instincts had gone off the moment he had seen Rick.

He knew he couldn't allow for them to create trouble within the walls. If it came down to a fight, he would make sure they were all out before they could pull the trigger. They could go live in the woods again for all he cared.

So necessary precautions were set up. He had a small group of people keep an eye on the group and they reported back to him daily. He himself kept an eye on Rick, since Rick was the one he trusted the least.

All they needed was a spark to get the fire going.

He stopped and looked up to the sky.

After losing his father and his brother, he knew he couldn't allow for any more lives to be lost. He needed to keep his mother safe. He couldn't save his other family members, but he could save her.

"Moon's gonna be full tonight."

Spencer jerked and turned around.

Beth stood behind him, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

Spencer narrowed his eyes at her. How did she manage to sneak up on him? She hadn't before…

Beth gazed at him calmly. "I want to talk to you."

Ooo0ooO

"Yeah, about what?"

Beth ignored the biting tone. "About why you're snoopin' around, sayin' bad things about us."

Spencer sneered. "Oh yeah? How do you know that? You got any proof?"

"Nothing except for what I've seen and heard," Beth replied. She tilted her head, regarding him with cool blue eyes.

"Why don't you go runnin' back to your leader?"

"I'm not going to run anywhere," Beth said. She uncrossed her arms and straightened.

"Sure you're not. Go and tattle to Grimes."

Beth's brow furrowed. "Is that how you see me? A child?"

Spencer scoffed.

"You know, Spencer, I've been thinkin'. It seems strange that you've been so hostile towards us, since we haven't done anything to you," Beth began, circling him slowly.

"What are you getting at?" Spencer asked, watching her warily.

"But it didn't come to me until just a little while ago," she continued, ignoring him. "You see, I had a nice conversation with your momma earlier. She's said that you got a good heart, but you're just a little wary of strangers. Understandable, of course. But I thought, that isn't enough."

She paused a foot away from him.

"Then I realized somethin'. This isn't about Alexandria, not really. This is about her. She told me about your daddy and your brother. So I thought to myself, what would I do? I already lost my own daddy. If I lost Maggie…well, I'd just about do anything to keep the rest of my family safe. I'd get rid of anything that threatened them, regardless of the cost."

Beth titled her head again.

"And we're the threat, at least in your eyes. How long has it been since you've brought in outsiders?" she asked. "I'm willing to bet a while. So naturally, you see someone like Rick and you think "oh no, he's trouble". You're not wrong. But you see, Rick isn't the one you gotta watch out for." She stepped closer to him.

"No?"

"No," Beth said softly, meeting his gaze.

Then, in a blink of an eye, she had her knife pressed firmly against his throat. The sharp edge bit against his pulse, which jumped.

She smiled sweetly at him. "I'm no child, Spencer. I am something not to be reckoned with. You're not the only one with family you wanna keep safe. So you know what you're gonna do?"

"What?" Spencer spat, gritting his teeth.

"You're gonna leave them the hell alone," she whispered, leaning even closer.

And as quickly as she drew it, Beth put her knife away and took a step back.

"I'm sorry about your father and brother," she told him. "But no more lives have to be lost, Spencer. Don't you see? We want the same thing, for those we love to stay safe. It doesn't have to end with a fight."

"And you think I'm gonna just let you walk away?"

"Yes," Beth said, still calm. "Because I'm going to tell you somethin' else. You don't have to do this alone anymore, Spencer. You don't gotta defend this community by yourself. You got us now."

Spencer stared at her.

When Beth smiled again, it was gentle and genuine.

He kept staring at her when she turned around and walked away.

Ooo0ooO

The next day, Spencer was shocked to see Beth waiting for him outside by the gates to the safe-zone.

She gave him another bright smile. "Morning," she said. "Deanna said you might need help with guard duty today, so I offered to help. What can I do?"

Spencer blinked. "I…"

"You gotta post some people at the north post," Beth continued, heading down along the wall. When he saw he wasn't following her, she paused and looked at him with a raised brow. "Well come on, we got work to do."

Spencer cleared his throat before falling into step with her. "We need two people here," he said, pulling out a diagram of the safe-zone and pointing. "We need volunteers for a run too…"

As he explained it all to her, Beth felt a triumphant grin spread across her face. Because it didn't need to end badly. Even the loneliest of people need help sometimes, you just needed an open pair of eyes to see that.

It would take time, she knew that. He wouldn't trust Rick and the others right away, but if she could prove that he could trust her…well, that's a start to something better.

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own TWD.

Author's Note: I don't see Rick and Spencer as all that different. They both lost members of their family, so naturally there's going to be trust issues. So it's easy for them to bare their teeth at each other, but it takes the right kind of person to see past all of that hurt and mistrust and see the real person underneath that. I'm not vouching for Spencer and Beth to be eventual friends necessarily, but I think Beth wants to prove to everyone that they can all coexist peacefully if they give each other a chance.

Plus, no one fucks with Beth.

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