Pete had come for Rick, telling him that he "Wasn't one of us." Yesterday, he and Rick had gotten into a fight, which then led Rick on some power trip. Threating people to come at him and Michonne had knocked him out. It sounded like Rick was kind of losing it, maybe he wasn't use to being in a place that he didn't have complete control of?

Anyway, Pete had come tonight with intentions of killing Rick, not Reg. On top of that, a guy Rick had met in the beginning….Morgan I think? Had just arrived and was thrown off by Rick's behavior. It was all ridiculous.

I had followed Spencer to his house, away from all of the drama, "Spence, wait!" I said before he shut the door. "Let me keep you company until you mom returns home?" I said, hopefully. "You don't have to. I know I treated you like shit, Harp." He said, trying to hold back tears. "That's in the past. We were great friends before and I'd like to be there for you." I gently touched his hand and he nodded as I walked in. We sat down on the couch.

"I'm sorry, Spencer. I know how difficult it is to lose the ones you love." I put a roll of toilet paper next to him. He nodded, "I don't feel like talking right now, Harp. I want you to stay with me though." He rested his head on my lap and I ran my hands through his hair, humming Let it Be by The Beatles. He dozed off and I studied him. He really was handsome, his chiseled jaw line, pouty lips and cute round nose. I smiled and looked out the window at the moon.

If I could, I'd leave this planet. I'm sure there were no walkers in space, only kind, friendly aliens….well in my fantasy at least. I sighed, resting my elbow on the arm of the couch and placing my head in my hand. Hopefully Deanna would be home soon, I didn't know how much longer I could stay awake. I began to nod off, but was awoken by the door opening. It was Spencer's mom, who rushed upstairs.

He rubbed his eyes, "How long was I out for?" He asked, sitting up. "Exactly three hours." I said yawning, I heard his stomach grumble, "Would you like one of my famous omelets?" I asked looking at the grandfather clock that chimed, reading one in the morning. "I could go for that, and probably a shower." "Go ahead, I'll have it ready for you once you're done." I smiled sleepily at him. "Thanks, Harp. For everything, you really-" "Shh, say no more." He smiled and headed upstairs.

Once he was done, we sat at the dining table, eating in silence. "I feel like none of this would have never happened if Rick's group hadn't come." Oh boy. This was a sensitive subject. I got up, clearing our plates. "I better get going." "You disagree then?" He asked, repulsed. "I don't know what to think, Spencer. Things have gotten a little crazy, but I feel like that's what's expected when you merge two, large groups together." I didn't want to argue and had to choose my words carefully. "Whatever, why would I expect you to understand? Especially since you're all over Daryl…of all people." He muttered the last three words. "Come on, I want us to be friends again Spence, I don't have the energy for this. If you need anything, let me know. Good night…or good morning, I guess."

I left and got home, excited to become one with my bed. I opened my door and Daryl was sound asleep. I changed into some pajamas and crawled into bed, next to him. "Shit. I was waiting for you, must have fallen asleep. Sorry." He mumbled, getting up. "No, stay!" I said touching his arm.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I placed my head on his chest and we both quickly fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I rolled over and faced Daryl's bare back, he must have taken his shirt off sometime last night. He had a tattoo of two demons on the right side of his shoulder and massive scars. I hadn't realized how large they were, and they had looked deep too. How could a father do that to their own kid? I was so deep in thought that I hadn't noticed that he was turning over, our faces uncomfortably close to each other.

"Hello." I said awkwardly as I grinned. His hair was out of his eyes and I noticed that his eyes weren't just grey, they had a hint of blue to them as well. They also looked different depending on the lighting. "Morning." He smiled and sat up, and bent down to grab his shirt. "Daryl…" I said, running my hands across his back, causing him to freeze, "Why?" He sighed, putting his shirt on, "My old man was a real fuckin' asshole. He'd beat the shit out of me and my brother almost every night. Would grab anything from his belt to a fuckin' horse whip, beat our asses for no reason. He was an alcoholic and my mom was addicted to meth…" I grabbed one of his hands that rested in his lap, stroking it with my thumb, "I-I couldn't take it anymore so left. Basically raised by Merle and we lived on the streets, trying to survive. I would never wish that on anyone, even my worst enemy." He said quietly.

This was the most he had ever spoken and it was something so heart breaking. I leaned my head on his shoulder and squeezed his hand, looking up at him, "I'm so sorry Daryl." I didn't know what else to say, what could you say to something so horrible? He leaned down, our lips inches apart from each other.

Ok, I know it seems weird that I'm so comfortable around Daryl when it comes to any kind of touching. We had both been through abuse and understood one another as well as each other's boundaries without speaking. I couldn't fully explain it.

I placed my hand on his cheek, almost closing the gap when Eric opened the door, unannounced, "Hey guys, breakfast is…oh shit, I'm sorry!" His face turned bright red, which never happened to Eric, so I knew he hadn't done it on purpose. "It's okay, Eric!" I said, chuckling while my cheeks turned a light pink. "I-I better go. See you guys later." Daryl said as he put his vest on and walking past Eric.

"Seriously though, sorry Harp." Eric could barely maintain eye contact with me. "No worries, honestly, we were just talking." "Please! You two were about to kiss. Now come down for some breakfast."

After breakfast was finished Deanna had called a mandatory meeting. "There's a large hoard of walkers coming our way. We need to diverge them since they're coming straight towards us." Rick spoke as he stood next to Deanna. Since the passing of her husband, I felt like she depended more on Rick.

"I only want experienced people going out, this is going to be a dangerous job. We've come up with a plan, and I think it will work out well." We had been training people on a daily basis and a lot of them had come a long way. If we followed the plan, I seriously think it would work. "If you want to come along, meet me after this meeting….which will be now, unless you have anything to add Deanna?" She shook her head.

I definitely wanted to go. I was up for an adventure and would like to get out, even if it was dangerous. A good amount of people stayed around, which was surprising. "Harper, come here." Rick said. I walked up, standing between him and Daryl. "You know these people better than me and have been training with them, what do you think?" I looked at all of the familiar faces and then at Rick, "They're a solid group, they won't let you down." He nodded and began to go into detail about the plan, about who would be where and what vehicles would be used and different ways to herd the walkers.

"We'll leave tomorrow and go over a test run, bright and early." I hoped that this would all work. If not, we would be fucked. Rick made it sounds like there were hundreds of corpses, which could wipe out all of Alexandria.

"You excited to ride with me?" Daryl asked, his voice gruff. "Uh, yes! I've never been on a motorcycle, so it should be fun." I smiled at him, hitting my hand into his. "Maybe you can teach me how to ride it sometime?" I was facing him as I walked backwards. "Uh, I don't think so." "Oh, come on….oh shit!" I tripped over a rock and Daryl grabbed me, pulling me closely to him, "You ok, Harper?" I nodded, trying to catch my breath, wrapping my arms around his neck, while his hands rested on my waist.

I started laughing, why? I had absolutely no idea. Daryl looked at me, dumbfounded, I think he was unsure of how to act. I placed my forehead on his, sighing, "Sorry, I-" "Hey, what the fuck are you doing, man?" It was Spencer and he was coming towards Daryl and me, angrily. "What the hell are you doing Spencer?" I stood in front of Daryl, "Its ok." He said standing next to me while Spencer got into his face.

"Don't touch her!" He pointed a finger into Daryl's chest, his face was stone cold. "Or what?" He asked quietly. "Spencer, we're not together anymore. You don't have a say in who I hang out with." I said firmly. He had his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white. Daryl on the other hand looked quite calm. "Daryl," He looked over at me, "You don't have to-" Wham! Spencer hit him square in the jaw, catching him off guard and he fell to the ground.

"God dammit Spencer, stop!" I yelled as neighbors started coming out while Spencer got one more good punch in. Daryl got on top of him quickly and raised his fist "Just do it!" He yelled, rage in his eyes. "You're not worth my time." Daryl said getting off of him and spitting blood on the ground, walking away. I started following him, "Harper, wait!" I spun around, "What? What the hell do you want?"" I spat. "Please. I want you back. Just please forgive me, I need you, especially after losing my-" "Stop right there! You cannot use that as an excuse. We're done. We obviously can't even be friends. Just leave me alone. I want nothing to do with you, just get the fuck out of my life!" I yelled, not realizing how many people were watching.

I ran after Daryl, up his porch and into his house. Sasha was handing him some ice wrapped in a towel, "Hey." I said softly. "Hey Harper. Looks like you'll be in good hands Daryl." She smiled, walking out of the kitchen. "I'm so sorry, Daryl." "It's not your fault." I walked over to him grabbing his hand that iced his face and pulling it down. "Oh no. I think you need stitches. He split your lip. Let's go to the clinic."

I had placed two sutures in Daryl's lip, "It'll make you look tougher, I guess? Even though you're already intimidating…kind of." I smiled sheepishly, running my thumb over his cheek. "Ready to get out of here?" He nodded. Was he angry with me? Maybe I needed to give him some space. I wasn't sure. We stopped at his house, "I really am sorry, Daryl." I looked at the ground, wishing I could hide away in a hole. "I'll see you tomorrow hopefully?" I said as I began walking away. "Stay with me tonight." He said. My heart raced, "A-are you sure? I totally understand if you're mad at me." "I'm not mad at you….Harry. Come on." He grabbed my arm and led me into his house, walking me upstairs into what I was assuming was his bedroom.

There were clothes scattered on the ground and his bed wasn't made. It's how I would have expected his room to look. He was letting me into his world more and more each day. I watched him as he kicked his boots off and jumped onto his bed. "I don't bite Harp." He said a wry smile on his lips. I removed my shoes and jacket and lay next to him, awkwardly.

"What'd he do to you?" He asked, breaking the silence and facing me. I told him everything which took a few hours and he listened closely, never once interrupting. I had finally finished and he looked at me, studying my face, "What an idiot." Was all he said. I shrugged my shoulders, "I'm serious Harper. He's crazy to have not wanted you….you're somethin' else and any guy would be lucky to be wanted or loved by you. I know you think you're broken, but you're not. You've just been through a lot of horrible shit, but that doesn't make you any less." He looked at his hands as he fidgeted with them.

I honestly didn't know what to say. That's what I needed to hear, it felt like a weight had been taken off my shoulders. I hadn't realized that I had started crying, "Sorry!" I said quickly wiping tears away, "It's just….that was one of the nicest things someone has said to me and I needed to hear it. Thank you, Daryl." I looked at him, smiling.

We were sitting across from each other with our legs crisscrossed. He leaned in towards me and I closed the gap. Our lips met and it felt like an explosion went off, I leaned forward, wanting to savor the kiss. He pulled away and I slowly opened my eyes, not wanting it to end…I wanted more.

"We should get some sleep. It's gunna be a busy day tomorrow." He softly ran his hand down the side of my face as the butterflies in my stomach went crazy. I nodded my head, as if I were in a trance and crawled under the covers. Daryl removed his shirt, throwing it on the ground with the rest of his clothes.

I rested my head on his bare chest and he wrapped both his arms around me, making it feel like nothing in the world could harm me.

I woke up early the next morning and needed to swing by my house to grab a few things. I opened the door and was greeted by Carl, my stomach dropped. "Shit." I mumbled as I rubbed my neck. "I knew it, Maggie and me were right!" He said excitedly. "Carl, nothing happened-" "No need to explain, you're secret is safe with me." He winked as he went back into his room. I trusted him, he was a good kid, so I just shrugged it off.

I went downstairs and was surprised to see some people on the couch and others on the ground. They hadn't split up yet and felt safe with each other that was understandable. I crept around them and got outside, nearly jumping out of my skin as Maggie gasped, "You stayed over?" She whispered. "Sweet Jesus, Maggie! You almost gave me a heart attack." I placed my hands on my chest. "Tell me everything!" She patted the bench next to her.

It was nice having a girlfriend around, so I figured I'd indulge her….also I was pretty excited about it. "We just talked last night for a bit and he was really sweet….and then we kissed and that's it!" "You know, Carl and I were the only ones who knew you two would get together. I'm so happy for you!" She genuinely smiled, placing her hand on my lap. "We're not together….yet, but you'll probably be the first to know. I gotta go, I'll see you later!" I said getting up and heading home.

I showered and looked through clothes to wear. I grabbed a pair of leggings that were all black with Jack Skellington's face on the knees. I paired it with an over-sized Queen shirt that had holes here and there. I then put my hair up into a messy bun and ran down stairs, throwing on my boots and jacket. "It's getting warm Harper, you can't wear that all the time." Aaron said handing me a bag packed with food. "I'll hold on to it as long as I can! And thank you!" I smiled at him. "You staying?" "Yeah. You know how Daryl and I went out? Ran into an odd situation. Someone had set up a trap, and some people have found walkers in the woods with W's carved into their heads. I feel like something bad might happen. Want to be around, just in case."

Daryl hadn't mentioned any of that, probably because of all my high school, bull shit drama. "Oh boy. That's scary. I hope nothing happens….especially while a majority of people are gone." I took a bite out of an apple. "I think we'll be okay, I just have an uneasy feeling about it…like something will come of it, you know?" I nodded my head, feeling slightly anxious. "Don't worry Harp, it might be nothing. You be careful today, ok?" "I will, you won't be getting rid of me anytime soon." I gave him a big hug and headed out.

We did one last de-brief with Rick as we all stood in a circle. I stood between Glenn and Daryl, looking around the solid group of people we had, feeling proud. "Glenn, what the fuck is Nick doing here?" I hissed as I glared at him. "He wanted to help, told him he could come along as long as he stays by my side and listens to everything I say." "You're too forgiving." He chuckled, "You have to learn to forgive and move on, otherwise it consumes you."

Damn, I had to give it to Glenn. First off, that fucker tries blaming him for Aiden's death, kills Noah and goes after Glenn in the woods with a knife to do God knows what to him, which I think his intentions were to kill him. I hated that guys guts, but if Glenn could move on from it, I guess I could too.

"You ready?" Daryl asked, smiling. "Yup! How's your lip?" I asked as he mounted his motorcycle. "Great." I got on and wrapped my arms around his waist, "Ready?" He asked revving the engine. "Yes, sir!" I rested my head on his back as the vibrations ran through my bones.

The ride was about thirty minutes and with my short attention span I had to liven things up, "Come on Daryl, sing along with me!" I yelled as he shook his head, "You won't get a thing outta me!" "All we hear is radio ga ga, radio goo goo, radio ga ga!" I belted as I stretched my arms out, "What the hell are you doing?" Abraham drove up next to us while Sasha chuckled beside him, "Just having some fun!" I yelled as I placed my hands on Daryl's hips, "You've got yourself a crazy one, Daryl!" He yelled as he drove by us.

We arrived, and holy shit, Rick wasn't lying. There were what looked to be hundreds, maybe even thousands of walkers in a quarry. There was a large semi-truck that was the only thing keeping them blocked from moving towards us, which by the way was teetering on the edge of a cliff.

"We'll need to lead them down this highway right here…." Rick said as he pointed at a map. We all heard crumbling and looked up, "Oh fuck." I whispered as I watched the large vehicle crash down, "We need to move now!" Rick yelled as the corpses walked towards us. We were fucked.

***Please review and let me know what you think! (:***