Chapter 13: Lighting Up the Night
It was 11:02 at night when Rosita was abruptly woken from her sleep by her buzzing phone. When she looked at the caller ID and noticed it was Abraham calling, her heart dropped. Fearing one of her boys was hurt she quickly answered it. "Abe what's wrong? Who's hurt?" She questioned in a rush.
"Nobody's hurt… yet." Abraham assured. "Get the girls up and get them dressed. Now." He demanded.
"What? Why would I do that? You're not making any sense." Rosita scratched the top of her head and yawned.
"Wake the girls up right now and come to our cabin, you gotta hurry! I'll explain more when you arrive." He assured.
"Abraham, why do you sound out of breath?" Rosita asked as she pulled off her sheets and headed for the main light switch. "What are you doing?"
"I'm running back to my cabin with a shit load of shit on my back! I'll see you in a few minutes!" With that Abraham hung up the phone leaving Rosita to rudely interrupt her sleeping teens for whatever the hell it was that Abraham was planning this late at night.
When Abraham arrived at his cabin, he flew through the front door, and rushed into the boys' bedroom. He quickly turned on the light switch and set the heavy duffel bags on the ground. "Wake up! Come on, move your asses!" He ordered in a voice loud enough to wake up Glenn as the boy gave his leader a confused expression.
"It's morning already?" Glenn rubbed his eyes looking across the bunks to where Rick was struggling to get up.
"No it's about to be a quarter past eleven and we don't have much time."
"Time for what? I thought we were attacking in the morning." Daryl groggily moaned keeping his eyes hidden from the brightness of the bedroom.
"Yeah, change of plans. During dinner I overheard Dawn telling her group that she overheard us! They were planning to attack us at midnight and I can't let that happen."
Instantly Daryl was up and already slipping on his shoes. This was his one chance to punch Ed's face in a few times and he sure as hell wasn't about to miss it. "You heard the man, get up!" Daryl ordered as he chucked a pillow at Shane, who was the only one still sleeping.
Rick climbed down the ladder of his bunk before scratching his head and looking confused. "What about the girls?"
"I already called Rosita, they should be here any min-"
Abraham was cut off by the sound of the cabin door opening as Rosita came into the bedroom with all the girls behind her. "You boys aren't ready yet?" The female leader sighed.
"And you say girls are the ones who take forever getting dressed." Tara shook her head in disappointment.
"That's not fair, you were all warned before us." Shane stated as he groggily sat up on his bed and carelessly pulled on his hiking boots.
"Are those for us?" Maggie nodded to the pile of duffel bags in the middle of the room.
"Yeah, go through them. Take what you need." Abraham insisted.
The girls nodded and headed over to the bags. As they each started to look through them Lori frowned at her findings. "Fanny packs? I thought we'd at least have some sense of style."
"They come in handy, trust me." Abraham went over to the girls and unzipped one of the many fanny packs. "Look, they got some silly string, stink pellets, and pepper spray."
"Pepper spray?!" Rosita's eyes widened. "Abraham! They could blind someone!"
"It's only temporary." Abraham shrugged off her worry.
"Oh cool! Look at this jacket!" Tara said as she pulled out a piece of clothing before furrowing a brow when she noticed there weren't any sleeves on this particular jacket. "Wait… what the hell is this?" She turned to Abraham.
Making a tsking sound Abraham took the article of clothing from Tara. "It's a poncho, obviously. It was mine but... it doesn't fit me anymore." The man looked somewhat ashamed.
Rosita shook her head at her partner. The only reason his poncho didn't fit anymore was that he gained some serious muscle in the last year. He looked really good. Not that she'd been staring or anything. Rosita shook her head again and turned to Carol. "Carol I think you should wear the poncho since you forgot your jacket and it's a bit cold outside."
Carol eyed the poncho. It did have a nice red pattern to it and it looked as if she could hide some weapons under it. Taking the poncho in hand she secretly admired the softness before slipping it on over her tank-top.
"Wow, Carol. That looks really good on you." Rick offered her a smile and as he looked up his eyes met Daryl's, who seemed deep in thought. "What? You good man?" Rick questioned.
With a small nod in Rick's direction Daryl furrowed a brow. How does Rick hand out compliments like it's the simplest task in the world?
Maggie watched as Glenn loaded his paintball gun with extreme care before something in the corner of the boys' room caught her eye. "Why is that bag over there under your bed, Abraham?"
"Oh uh… it's just some fireworks. Bunch of air missiles. I thought they would be useful but the only thing they'll do it get us caught." Abraham explained.
"Aww it woulda been cool to light them at Ed." Shane thought out loud as Tara and Daryl both nodded in agreement.
Rosita's mouth dropped as she imagined her teens setting off a Bottle Rocket at any of the members from the other team. It could get someone seriously hurt. "Oh no. Nobody is going to take those fireworks with us." She stated, eyeing each of her teens.
Summer...Summer...Summer
They had finally slipped out of the boys' cabin at around 11:45 p.m. in an orderly fashion as they made their way quietly to their rivals cabins. They decided to take a trail that was the farthest from all the cabins just to make sure nobody could detect them coming. Plus whoever was on night patrol always checked that specific trail last.
"Carol?" Michonne studied the girl beside her who had one too many bags. "What are you carrying?" She questioned.
"Mm… the bagunderAbe'sbed." Carol mumbled, mushing the last few words together as she kept her eyes on the trail in front of her.
Despite Carol's effort Michonne caught onto every word. "You- are you crazy?!" She questioned trying to keep her voice low while her face showed clear shock. "You took the bag that Rosita specifically told us not to take?!" Her once soft whispers turned into a hushed voice.
"Her words were saying no but her eyes were saying yes." Carol said with certainty.
"No I'm pretty sure her eyes were saying no too." Michonne shook her head. "I am not apart of whatever you're planning, deal?"
"Have faith in me Michonne. It's not like I'm gonna go around blowing people up." Carol assured.
Michonne gave Carol a questioning side-eye look before a cry from Lori caught their attention.
"Look!" Lori extended her arm out to point before retracting it and ducking her head down seconds before a water balloon came flying at her, hitting the concrete ground behind her. "They're here!" Lori shouted taking a paintball gun from Shane as she pulled the trigger sending paint flying in the direction that the water balloon was thrown.
The fight was on.
Quickly, the Walking Dead team took action as more balloons came flying at them.
Shane and Rick got low and moved to the side of the trail where they took refuge behind a bush and set up their paint guns on some nice sized rocks and began shooting, hitting a few of their targets.
"Shane stay here I'm gonna run to the other side an' see if I can get better aim." Rick stated.
"Okay. I'll cover you bro." Shane assured as he intently watched his best friend run through the dark battlefield. From the corner of his eye Shane could see Enid pop out from behind a bush and before he could pull his own trigger, Enid had shot Rick in the shoulder. Shane watched in disbelief as his friend fell back on the concrete path. "NOOO!" Shane shouted dramatically as he stood up from his station behind the shrubbery. He kept his finger on the trigger - hitting anything and everything in view as he continued to make his way towards his fallen friend.
"Michonne! You good?" Glenn ran up to his team mate and offered a hand to help her stand after a water balloon caught her by surprise.
The girl gladly took it and ran with Glenn to get cover from all the other balloon bombs being thrown. "Here take this!" Michonne handed him her paint gun.
"Don't you need it?" The boy questioned.
"No, my aim sucks!" She stated before chucking an empty silly string can at Aiden but of course, she missed completely. "I need a melee weapon." She muttered loud enough for Glenn to here.
"Like. . . a sword?" Glenn raised a brow in question as he looked quickly around all of his surroundings.
"Something like that." Michonne nodded before running in the direction of Kelly, who had been sprayed with watered-down syrup.
Daryl had yet to see Ed and that was the only reason he had yet to use any of his weapons. He was saving all his ammo for the creep who had put hands on Carol. "Rick, there's another trail back that way." Daryl pointed in the direction opposite from their rivals. "It leads to the other side of this trail. I'll go sneak up 'n attack 'em from behind."
"Are you sure about that?" Rick gave his teammate a questioning look.
"Glenn told me about it. He thinks it'll help drown them out. Make em' run back to their cabins." Daryl assured.
"Be Careful." Rick said with a slight nod then focused back on the others.
Maggie stood her ground, blazing paint at her enemies. She had to admit that it was kinda fun but like everything in the world her moment of tranquility ended when her gun ran out of paint. Maggie moved as fast as she could to reload her gun before anyone could notice. Unfortunately, Pete noticed her vulnerability and took the opportunity to strike at the country girl standing in the middle of the battlefield.
Glenn made sure he kept an eye on Maggie. No, she currently wasn't his girlfriend but he naturally wanted to protect her the best he could. So when he saw Pete coming towards Maggie with a melon sized water balloon in hand, Glenn was on his feet and sprinting to her. "Maggie!" He shouted out in a desperate call.
It was hard for Maggie to see where she kept her paint ball pellets inside the big duffle bag she carried but it was even harder to keep her eyes on her surroundings. Immediately Maggie's head shot up at the sound of Glenn calling out for her. In an instant her eyes landed on a blond haired boy, wearing glowstick necklaces, charging at her.
Just as Pete began raising his hand that carried the water balloon, Glenn extended his arms and legs leaping into the air to block Maggie as the green water balloon came crashing into his chest sending water all over him just before he hit the ground. Maggie's mouth dropped in shock as she watched Glenn come flying through the air out of nowhere and block the balloon from hitting her. She quickly finished loading her paint gun and took aim.
Once his sight cleared, Glenn lifted his head and watched as Pete retreated back to his side of the battle field. He was covered in bright pink paint. Making sure the coast was clear from any more enemies, the now dripping wet teen got up and faced a shocked Maggie.
"Glenn! You took a water balloon to the face for me. That's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." Maggie smiled wrapping her arms around the soaked boy not caring if she also got wet.
"You two need back up?" Rosita ran up to Glenn and Maggie. She was actually just going around and subtly checking if any of her teens had any type of cuts or bruises on their skin and needed any medical assistance.
"No. We can handle it." Maggie assured with determination.
"Okay…" Rosita nodded before looking around with her night vision binoculars. "Wait… where's Carol?"
Summer...Summer...Summer
Daryl listened to the faint shouts off in the distance as he walked down a quiet low lit path. He was surprised that nobody seemed to be coming out of some of the the closer cabins to check out what the commotion was but then again everybody in camp was probably dead asleep, as they should be, and he guessed the fight was still pretty far from the cabins that were nearest them.
As he got further down the trail nothing seemed familiar to him and Daryl debated heading back up the trail his team was on to help them in combat against the others but he had to remind himself of his task to creep up on his rivals and attack from behind like Glenn had mentioned.
Being left in the silence of the night made Daryl's mind wander. He always hated the feeling of being alone, though he'd never admit it, but lately for some reason he hated it even more.
Daryl didn't know what he was going to do when summer ended since the only friends he had were at camp. Was he really already looking forward to next summer? Then again, would any of his teammates return to camp next summer? They had all pretty much said the main reason they were here was that their parents had sent them. None of them had chosen to spend their summer at this camp. Daryl sighed. His world would never be the same once he returned home. Guys like him didn't care for anything except themselves and their family… if they even had a family. Only, now Daryl had actual friends that he trusted and counted on.
The boy's thoughts were interrupted when he saw a dark figure further up the trail. As the figure came closer into the lights that were on both sides of the trail, Daryl recognized the mysterious figure at once.
"Daryl? Oh man. Well ain't this somethin'." The voice chuckled. "It's like a match made in heaven, ain't it?"
Daryl narrowed his eyes and looked as if he had swallowed a whole lemon. "Ed."
Ed smiled just to annoy the Dixon boy. "Well Pretty Boy… just me and you now. An' a little birdy told me that you wanted ta… what were the exact words? Oh yeah! 'Punch my face in'. I'd like to see you try." Ed said with his infamous smirk to top it off.
"The only one who's gonna try is you." Daryl let out a smirk of his own.
"That's your problem DICK-son, you think you're better than everyone."
"Well I sure as hell know I'm better than you Peltier. I don't go puttin' hands on a girl." Daryl stated keeping his voice low in a growl-like tone as he walked closer to Ed. The sensation of a flame lighting in his stomach grew immensely with each second that passed.
"Please. She wanted it." Ed slurred as the corner of his thin lips curled up in a smarmy smirk.
That was it. Daryl was enraged with madness. Ed had done nothing but wrong and Daryl was going to put a stop to it. Even if it wasn't his place to.
Two heavy hands came down on Ed as Daryl grabbed fist fulls of the boys shirt threatening Ed with every evil word Daryl was taught from his older brother. Though his words sounded promising it was definitely not soothing for Ed to imagine all the things Daryl said he was going to do to him.
"Stop! Daryl, let him go!" A voice cried out.
Immediately Daryl obeyed only because the soft toned voice sounded exactly like, "Carol?"
The girl ran til she stopped in between both boys that shared the same murderous look. "You two are not going to fight. I won't let you." Carol said finding herself in a similar situation she'd once been in on the first day of camp. Only she knew that that these two were a much more volatile mix than Shane and Daryl.
"And you're gonna stop us?" Ed snickered at the thought of that.
Carol -very slowly- raised one brow. "I think I just did."
Slowly Ed's smile faded as he quickly glanced at the Dixon boy standing behind the petite girl. "I miss those smart comments, I really do." This time Ed's chuckle sounded forced. "I'm glad you're here. I thought me and Daryl were gonna have a mature talk, then he went off, said he wanted to fight me." Ed swore causing Daryl to tighten his fists but the other teen remained quiet. "Sorry ta tell you Carol but the redneck is bat shit crazy. I'm just trying to keep you safe."
"Keepin' her safe by forcing her to do things she don't wanna do?" Daryl questioned, his voice rising like his blood pressure.
Ed made it a point to eye Daryl a second longer before looking Carol in the eye. "I'm so sorry for the way I treated you. There is no excuse for my actions… I just want you to know that it will never happen again. I promise." Ed said with the most earnest of faces.
Carol nodded. "Well thank-you for your apology bu-"
"So you're givin' me another chance?" Ed's smile was part hopeful and part cocky, making sure to throw Daryl a taunting smirk in the mix.
Carol liked that Ed really seemed sincere about his apology… well that was until he insulted Daryl and she saw the mean smirks he was giving the boy she really cared about. In the end, it didn't matter about what Ed hoped would happen. Carol had already made a decision with the help of Rosita and the girls. "N-"
"No she ain't! She was jus' sayin' thank-you. Don't know why though, you've done nothin' but hurt her." Daryl shot his words out as fierce and fast as a firing bullet, and as he tried to step in front of Carol she held out her arm to stop him.
"Shut up man! I'm tired of you runnin' your dang mouth!" Ed walked till the only thing in his way of punching Daryl was the auburn haired girl the two had been going on about.
Not that this wasn't exciting but Carol couldn't stand for anymore of the endless nonsense the two boys kept throwing at each other. All she truly wanted at that point was to say what she needed to say and leave. "That's enough." Carol spoke up, surprised at how much she sounded like her mother and Rosita combined.
At the sound of Carol's tone Daryl surprisingly began to calm down and took a small step back so that he wasn't crowding Carol and also so that she wasn't pushed any closer to Ed. Though he was still engulfed with anger, Carol gave him an even stronger feeling. One that he could not explain. "Car-"
"Just let me say my piece." Carol cut him off before taking a deep breath in. "Ed, you are the most obnoxious person I have ever met." She bluntly stated looking at the dunce jock. "Most of our conversations were about you and I'm truly just in shock that I haven't died from boredom yet!" Carol went off causing both boys to watch in silence as the frustrated girl went on her rant. "And I am sick of you belittling my team! They are my friends and I honestly couldn't care less about your stupid opinions."
Ed's mouth hung to the ground in shock listening to the petite girl say such words. "Carol you don't mean that-"
"Yeah I do. I mean every word, Ed. I just can't spend the rest of my summer living this lie. And it wouldn't matter how much you try to fight for me because I like Daryl not you!"
Daryl was in awe as he hung on to every word Carol said, hearing them clear as day - wait … what did she just say?
There was no way he heard that right.
Did Carol just say that she liked him and not Ed?
Daryl stood in bewilderment. He was dazed and confused. The world around him was spinning at the speed of light.
What was happening to him? His stomach felt weird and his breathing kept getting caught in his throat.
Slowly Daryl lifted his eyes and focused them on the two people in front of him. Ed's face showed complete and utter devastation.
Man, what Tara would do to see Ed's face right now. Daryl tried to focus on other things in hopes his heart wouldn't beat out of his chest.
A brief glance was all Carol gave him as she turned and walked off. Though the darkness outweighed the small trail lanterns, there was still enough light for Daryl to notice the tint of red on her cheeks. Anything that he had left to say about Ed was summed up by Carol in her speech.
"What she said." Daryl ducked his head avoiding eye contact from the boy who stood a few feet away as the once smug expression was gone without a trace.
Quickly Daryl cleared his throat and turned in the direction Carol had taken after she walked away, leaving Ed in the middle of the silent and lonely trail.
Summer...Summer...Summer
"Give it up losers!" Shane yelled trying to spot any movement from the darkness he stood in.
"GO! RUN!" Aiden shouted as he came running towards Shane but sidestepped him and continued running without even trying to hit him with a water balloon that was still clutched in his hands.
Shane made no effort in trying to attack Aiden either. "The hell is wrong with that kid?" He turned to Rick, who just shrugged. Shane shook it off and reloaded his gun before more of the Terminus team came running towards them shouting for everyone to go the other way.
"Move your feet, now!" Andrea ordered. "You're going to get all of us caught." She muttered in a sour tone as she picked up her pace.
Quickly, Rick grabbed a hold of Gabriel before the boy could run past him. "What is it? What are you running from?"
"Night guard." Gabriel said through his heavy breaths before he managed to squirm free from Rick's grip and took off after his team.
Rick turned, looking wide eyed at Shane before the both of them broke into a full on sprint in the direction Terminus was running in.
"Get your things Maggie, we gotta go!" Shane said as he helped her pick up a duffel bag and pushed her to start running.
"What's goin' on?" Maggie questioned, matching Shane's speed.
"Night prowl, we can't lead them back to our cabin... we gotta find a place to hide." He explained looking frantically around his surroundings.
"Tara and Kelly were back there!" Maggie's eyes widened.
"I'm sure they got out." Shane assured, as he lead Maggie onto a different trail as quickly as possible so that they wouldn't get caught.
Summer...Summer...Summer
"Carol, slow down!" Daryl called out trying his best to keep a low yet loud enough voice to catch her attention.
Though her cheeks felt like they had already burnt off, she could feel them get even hotter. She didn't like the feeling of being exposed especially now that Daryl knew how she felt about him.
"What's wrong?" Daryl questioned once he caught up to her though he was still trying to match the speed of her walk. When she didn't answer, Daryl huffed and reached for her arm stopping her as he moved himself in front of her. "Talk to me, Carol." He was shocked to not only hear the plea in his voice but to feel the overwhelming wave of emotion that came with it.
Carol shook her head, "Our group probably needs us right n-"
"I don't care." Daryl cut her off as he let go of the gentle grip he had on her shoulder. "I know something's botherin' you." When she nodded, he was surprised that he got her to respond. "Tell me."
"I just… I'm sorry that I brought you up like that when I went off on Ed. I was just so angry at him and his stupid smirk." Carol smiled when she heard a slight chuckle from Daryl.
"He does have a dumb smirk." Daryl thought aloud. "It was nothing compared to the dumbstruck look that was on his face when you walked away. N' it's okay Carol. At least Ed will leave you alone now, that's all that matters." Daryl shrugged.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Carol looked up at him and smiled. "This summer was definitely eventful."
"Yeah…" Daryl nodded. "The scary thing is that it ain't even over yet. We got two more weeks."
Carol nodded before they shared a few moments of silence, the sounds of their team still faint in the night.
"Carol…" Daryl cleared his throat. "When you told Ed you liked me…" what the hell am I doing? Shut up! Just leave it alone! You don't gotta be bringin' stuff like that up! -Can't go back now, she's already waiting for you to continue. "You mean it?"
Carol felt like a deer caught in headlights. She was so unsure on how to answer him. Though she was sure Daryl didn't like her the way she liked him, Kelly was very adamant that he did. Maybe for once Kelly was right. "Yes."
Daryl nodded and lowered his head to the concrete trail, hiding the smile that refused to go way. He was so nervous and was pretty sure that the atmosphere was ready to come crashing down on him. It definitely didn't help that he had no experience with what to do after the girl you like says they like you back. "Uh-"
"Oh god. I'm so stupid." The tone of her voice caused Daryl to immediately look back up at her. Humiliation took over when Carol noticed that Daryl was probably trying to find a nice way to tell her that he just wanted to be friends. "I knew you didn't like me that way- I just… can we just forget I even said anything and stay friends? Please?" She asked in a rush.
Now Daryl was confused. He was still trying to understand what she was saying even though it was pretty clear that she must have changed her mind. She probably realized just how much of a loser he really was. And she probably wanted to be back with Ed, that's why she must have been so upset.
Daryl couldn't say that he was shocked, he knew it was just too good to be true to have someone like her-
WAIT.
Did she say she knew I didn't like her? She thinks I, Daryl Dixon, do not like her, Carol Elizabeth Owen. I still remember her middle name for crying out loud… N' I thought I was pretty obvious with droppin' hints- at least that's what Kelly tells me.
"Wait... Carol, how could you think that I don't li-"
"RUN!" A voice shouted at both Daryl and Carol as they quickly turned to see Pete running passed them with panic in his eyes. "NIGHT WATCH IS COMING!"
"Shit." Daryl mumbled before immediately turning to Carol. "We gotta get to the others!" He stated before looking at the different trails to see which one would get them to wherever their team was.
Carol pulled Daryl back before he could decide which direction. "No what they need is a distraction- we're that distraction."
"What the hell are we gonna do?" Daryl furrowed a brow in confusion.
"Just... follow me." Carol turned, leading Daryl onto a dark path that was shadowed with tall trees.
Daryl didn't ask any questions seeing that Carol seemed so sure. Every time they passed a certain amount of trees, Daryl would get out his silly string and mark it so that way they could find their way back to their cabins.
As they passed through the trees Daryl started to recognize the large field of short cut grass. "Why are we here?"
"Remember the bag Rosita told us not to take? Well I took it." Carol stated as she unstrapped the duffle bag off her shoulders and set in on the ground.
"You- you did?" Daryl questioned trying his best to not sound shocked. The more he got to know her, the more he liked her.
"Yeah. We just got to set a few of them off and the night guard will have to investigate it." Carol assured.
Daryl took in the sight of Carol as she set up the fireworks, tying the ends together so that they'd set off at the same time. She never did anything that he expected her to do. Every time he thought he had her figured out Carol went and did something out of left field. Though he furrowed a brow when he saw her looking back and forth from the lighter to the fireworks. "Do you know how to light them?"
"Not really… do you?" Carol looked up at him with some hope.
Daryl didn't even fight the smile that grew on his face. "Yeah." He nodded before taking the lighter from her. He knelt down and swiped the match along its cardboard case before putting the lit match to the bottle rockets.
Daryl rushed back with Carol just in time as the fireworks made loud popping sounds, taking off in the air, zipping through the night sky, and exploding in the air as bright embers slowly began to fall.
Again Daryl went back to the bag of fireworks this time instead of setting all of them off at the same time, he lined them up and lit them off one-by-one. He was in a rush, trying to finish lighting them before the first one could set off, and as he came to the last firework and lit it it completely tipped over.
Daryl hesitated to reach out and stand it straight up again but when he finally went for it Carol came up from behind him pulling him back as they both fell on their butts seconds before each individual firework took off into the starry night.
Daryl began to push himself further away, he grabbed Carol's arm and started pulling her back as well before the tipped bottle rocket took off.
Daryl intensely watched in disbelief as the rocket flew right into a canoe that was floating in the middle of the lake.
Both Daryl and Carol watched, mouths hung open, as the canoe went up in flames. They weren't even paying any attention to the fireworks that were exploding in the sky above them.
Carol slowly began to stand not taking her eyes off of the burning boat. "Do you think someone was in there?" She asked, absentmindedly praying that there hadn't been.
"Probably." Daryl deadpanned only to turn and see worry all over Carol's face. "But I'm sure there wasn't." He patted her shoulder before he was trapped by her big blue eyes that were still bright even in the dark. "We should get goin'." He cleared his throat and looked back to the lake were the blazing canoe's flames grew even higher.
Carol bit her lip as she followed his gaze and began to stare at the fireball in the lake as well. "So…are we still…friends?" The last word was barely audible but Daryl still heard it.
He could see her looking up at him from his peripheral vision. Like Carol had said earlier, they only had two weeks left of camp and he wasn't going to waste what little time he had left. "No." His voice was harsher than he anticipated. He turned to her shaking his head. The hell am I doin'? "You like me Carol and guess what…I like you too. N' I can bet that I liked you first." Daryl stated while doing everything in his power to avoid her eyes, instead he settled on looking at the freckles on her cheeks that were visible only because of the burning canoe.
Carol's face heated up and, like usual, her pale cheeks turned to a subtle red. "You mean it?"
Daryl nodded before he took a step toward her, his older brother's words echoing in his head, when you like ah girl, you gotta show her how much. With that in mind, Daryl slid his hand around her side and pulled her close to him as he leaned forward softly pressing his lips against hers and they kissed. Daryl kept his eyes shut hoping and praying that he was making the right move, though he guessed he was since she was kissing him back.
When Daryl pulled back Carol slowly opened her eyes, her heart going wild, and her vision almost blurry. She blinked her eyes to clear them and stared into Daryl's deep blue eyes for a moment before she pulled him back in for another kiss.
Daryl was surprised for a second before eagerly responding. He was bursting with different emotions; he was happy, excited, and nervous. Daryl had never kissed anyone before, not that he would admit that to anybody, but kissing her was electrifying. He felt that no one could take away this moment. A few moments later, she pulled back and took a step back to catch her breath.
Carol was shocked. She could not believe that she had just gone back to kiss him like that.
"Sorry." Carol muttered while ducking her head.
"Don't be." Daryl replied, reaching out for her arm only to stop halfway. "'less you regret it." He said feeling anxious as he took a step back.
Carol looked up in alarm. She started to shake her head. "No! I… kinda... liked it…"
"Only kinda? Well at least that's somethin'…" Daryl froze as his heart dropped to his feet. Did I really just say that out loud?
Carol's eyes widened. "No, I mean, I really really liked the kiss - both of them. Did you?" She questioned.
"Yeah, I've never felt anything like that before with anybody."
Carol smiled and blushed at his words and Daryl couldn't help but think that if Merle were here right now he would be laughing his ass off and calling him a love sick puppy.
Daryl shook his head and cleared his mind, focusing on Carol. "What does this mean for us?"
Carol froze before putting the ball back in his court. "What do you want this to mean for us?"
Daryl gulped. Guess it only meant one thing but how was he supposed to ask? Please Daryl, if Glenn could do it, then so can you! You're a Dixon you get what you want, and man do I want her. "Ya-you wanna be my girlfriend?" Daryl questioned- his heart stopping completely once he realized how stupid he sounded. Yeah, Merle would definitely be rolling around on the floor, laughing his ass off right about now.
Carol stood on her tiptoes as she kissed the side of his face. "That would be nice." She said into his chest as she hugged him and listened to his beating heart.
Daryl smiled to himself as he held her back but the sight of the canoe, that started to sink, causing the flames to go down brought him back to where they were standing. "Carol, we- we really need to go."
"Right." She glanced back at the lake as the last of the canoe went under eliminating any light that was left.
With that Daryl grabbed Carol's hand and the duffel bag that she'd carried and lead the way back to the cabins.
Summer...Summer...Summer
It was 6:30 in the morning when Shane almost cried as Abraham woke him up and told him to head to the kitchen and prepare breakfast for the camp. Surprisingly it had only taken the sleep-deprived boy five minutes to get fully dressed and out of the cabin as he made his way to the cafeteria. Shane whistled as he walked down the path he usually took. He was secretly excited to see what he would help make, cooking just came naturally to him and he actually enjoyed it.
As he walked into the kitchen he stopped dead in his tracks when he found not only Mary but, "Tara? Kelly? What are you two- don't tell me you two got caught for the second time last night."
"Well, I don't know what to tell you then." Kelly sighed.
"Yeah and trust me when I say I got on my hands and knees begging to do anything other than serve food again." Tara grimaced. "I even offered to clean toilets." She said feeling a shiver go down her spine at her own words.
Shane sighed deeply and shook his head. "You know where the hairnets are ladies."
"I don't." A voice came from behind Tara and Kelly and as the two girls moved apart Shane's mouth fell agape as his worst fear came to life.
"Yeah, uh, Andrea, kinda- you know...got caught too." Tara looked from Shane to the girl from the other team then back to Shane.
Kelly bit her lip. It was going to be a long week. "I'll get the hairnets then." She said quietly to herself as she made her way to the cabinet that the nets were in.
Summer...Summer...Summer
Lori furrowed a brow as she looked at her team. Something just didn't seem right. "Okay, am I missing something?"
"Missing what?" Glenn questioned.
"I don't know… something seems different." Lori turned to Carol and studied her. "Where exactly did you go when you disappeared into the night?"
"I'm with Daryl-I went with Daryl…gosh I can't speak today." Carol bit her lip and lowered her head to the ground.
"Sure." Now Lori directed her glare at Daryl. "And where did you two go?"
"We were the ones that set the fireworks off. We already went over this last night, why you askin' so many questions?" Daryl remained calm on the outside though he could feel himself start to sweat. The brunette had a fierce vibe to her that almost came close to Maggie's. He and Carol had promised not to tell the others about their relationship until they were more comfortable with it themselves, and Daryl especially didn't want to be bombarded with questions from the guys. He wasn't the kiss and tell kind of guy, granted his first kiss was last night.
"It's just that my love radar is going off the hook- and I'm never wrong when I feel that two people are going out. It's been like this for a few days now and last night it just went completely out of whack." Lori stated as Rick and Michonne secretly shared a worried glance. "Lord knows that Maggie and Glenn haven't gotten back together, so who is it?" She demanded.
"Hey!" Glenn interrupted feeling insulted at the insinuation.
Lori raised a brow. "So you mean to tell that you two are dating again?"
"No, but maybe we will." Maggie folded her arms across her chest.
"When that happens, I'll be sure to bring it up. Until then…" Lori shook her head before looking at the others in her group. "Shane? Kelly? Is there something you wanna tell us?"
"I wish." Shane spoke up. "Listen, if Kelly would go out with me, I'll let all of Georgia know the second it happens." He assured.
"He's got a point." Kelly shrugged.
"Fine." Lori raised her hands in surrender. "Don't think that I won't find out though. Like I said, I am never wrong about these things."
"Never wrong about what things?" Rosita came walking up with Abraham at her side.
"Oh nothing." Lori sighed, secretly eyeing each of her team members as she could see the fear in some of their eyes.
"Okay... let's get ready for the games then." Abraham encouraged his group.
Summer...Summer...Summer
Morning quickly turned into noon as the Walking Dead and Terminus competed in a type of Iron Man Marathon where all members on a team had to contribute in an event.
With each event, the competitors remained neck-and-neck. It seemed that last night had only intensified the anger between both teams. They were surprisingly not talking trash - instead they were showing their hatred through their actions.
At least that was what Rick was doing.
It was the sixth event of the day and he was to be running a mile-and-a-half long run through the steep up and down hill trails. He was going against Aiden and the last time Rick had seen his competitor was when the referee blew the whistle.
Rick had his hands balled in fists as he chugged up one of the steeper trails, sweat dripping from his forehead. He couldn't tell you how long he had been running but the burning in his calves and thighs told him it had been a while, still he didn't stop. The heat was certainly not helping and he could feel himself start to slow until a faint huffing sound was coming from behind him.
It was Aiden.
One more hill! He promised himself. He didn't know if that was true but it was enough for him to start going faster once more.
Again Rick leaned forward, swinging his arms back and forth, extending his legs further as he came to the top then let gravity help him as he made his way down. The sight of his team was the best thing he'd ever seen in that moment - though his vision was somewhat blurry.
The loud cheers of his group members filled his ears, his best friend's cheers being the loudest of them all.
It felt so good as the red ribbon broke across his chest indicating that he was done. Immediately Rick fell to the ground as Shane quickly poured a cold bottle of water over him, congratulating him.
After Rick, Michonne was up. She would start biking from where Rick had finished and end when she reached the lake which was a great distance away.
She was going against Jessie. Both girls got onto their bikes and waited for the whistle to sound off. Michonne glanced over to her team with an unsure expression and right before the whistle blew, Maggie assured her that she'd do just great.
With that Michonne took off pushing down hard on her pedals.
For the most part the two girls had been at the same pace until Jessie lost her balance when her bike went over a few large pebbles, which caused her to lose control of her steering for a few seconds.
Those few seconds were just enough to put Michonne in the lead.
Everything was going well on the course, well that, or Jessie was just a horrible bike rider, because again she lost control of her steering. Seeing the large distance between her and her competitor, Michonne decided to take in the all-natural view as she enjoyed her nice paced bike ride towards her victory. Sooner than she'd expected, she came to a clean stop right over the white line that read 'finish'.
After Michonne's win it was now time for the final game of the day which was to swim the whole length of the lake, and who ever made it to the other side first, won.
Daryl was up and of course his competitor was Ed.
Daryl walked with his team to the edge of the lake. The memories of the night before coming into his mind causing him to smile as he pictured the burning canoe in the background as he kissed Carol.
Daryl was now pumped, electrolytes going wild in his blood at the fact that his event was swimming. In the winters when he went fishing, he'd have to jump in the raging rivers to set up large fishnets, making him a much stronger and faster swimmer.
"You're going to do great Daryl!" Tara jumped in excitement. "Make me proud- I mean us, make us proud!"
"No pressure though." Lori quickly added in with smile.
Daryl nodded, he was getting caught up in all the excitement he was feeling and that his friends were exuding. He would have never imagined having a large group of people wishing him the best but he actually had it. It was strange but it certainly felt great.
With that Daryl turned back to the lake as he pushed all his worries and thoughts to the back of his mind before lifting his shirt up and over his head and tossing it to the side.
A few gasps from behind him made him realize what he had just done.
Daryl felt paralyzed. He tried to move but was physically unable to.
He had just revealed his darkest secret to the nine people standing behind him. A secret that only his older brother had known about. Well his brother, a family court judge, and a select few others who were privy to what happened all those years ago.
It was too late to go back, too late to rewind time. The deep scars on his upper and lower back were on display for everyone to view like a painting in an art gallery.
Then reality hit him hard in the face. These people were nothing like him. They didn't live in trailer homes or have a daddy that abused them. They didn't get it and he didn't expect them to. How could he do this to himself? How could he make himself believe that he could be normal?
Every ounce of his body tensed as he slowly turned around. He kept his eyes on the ground, too ashamed to look any of them in the eye.
His shame quickly turned to anger as it spread throughout his body.
Maggie's heart felt heavy as she stared at the boy who she only knew to be strong and brave yet now seeing him look so weak and scared, tore her apart. "Daryl...we-we didn't know." Her voice weaving in and out of a whisper as tears threatened to fall.
"No...no you didn't know. Not any one of you!" He growled. "The hell did you want me to say? My dad beat me so bad that now my older brother has to legally take care of me!" Daryl shook his head before his eyes landed on Carol. He huffed as he reached down and snatched up his shirt from the ground and walked away.
Shane lowered his head and shut his eyes. He felt a weird pressure on his chest like his heart was lifting weights. There was no doubt in his mind that Daryl was the strongest kid their age and he literally had the scars to prove it. And what Daryl had said really stuck in Shane's head as he watched the angry boy stomp off.
Why the hell is he mad at us? It's not like we told him to take off his shirt. Tara huffed as Daryl walked off. She felt herself get mad before her emotions quickly turned to hurt. Now it was clear why Daryl had been so closed off in the beginning.
Kelly watched the water in the lake as the ripples moved together in the same direction while her group watched Daryl storm off. Seeing him fall apart yet still try to keep it together was so hard to watch. She needed a distraction before she broke down crying right beside Maggie.
"I'll swim the lake, just someone, please, go talk to Daryl." Kelly stated before a loud gun fired off. Quickly, Kelly slipped off her shoes and jumped into the lake and began the swim, her speed surprisingly faster than Ed's.
Without hesitation Carol took off in the direction Daryl had gone. She didn't know what she would say to him when she caught up, but she knew he needed her.
"Daryl! Daryl!" Carol called out. "Can you talk to me, please!"
"Jus' go way." Daryl shouted over his shoulder trying his best to not stop. "The fuck is wrong with you people, always wanting to help when no one's asking for it."
"We just want to make sure you're okay." When her words left her mouth he immediately stopped. She could see that he was thinking and was surprised when he turned to face her.
"Well don't." He stared straight into her eyes. "I don't know why I even came here to this stupid camp." He muttered before turning back around.
"Daryl, please." Carol pleaded. "They're your friends, they'll understand-"
"No!" He barked. "You people aren't like me. You don't know me either! You ain't got any scars the way I do. So you wouldn't understand- you don't understand." He stated before he began to pace. "I shoulda left the first chance I got!"
Carol narrowed her eyes and raised a challenging brow. "Then why didn't you?"
"I- I don't know." Daryl wrinkled his brows as if the reason wasn't standing right in front of him.
"Well I do... Daryl, you aren't the redneck bad boy people assume you to be. You're just, not, okay? You have proven to our team how much you truly care whether you like it or not. You're exactly like us, that's why you stayed. Who you are here, that is the real Daryl Dixon. Sure, you got some scars on your back, but that's not going to change the way I think of you, ever."
Daryl lowered his head feeling like a complete drama queen. "I jus' thought you'd act differently if you knew." He shrugged.
"I know it's hard, but you can trust us. We're here for you Daryl, just like you're here for us." When Daryl nodded, a smile grew on Carol's face. She walked up to him and hugged him as he wrapped his arms around her resting his chin on her head.
"Hey, is everything alright?" Rick came walking up to the two after losing an intense game of rock, paper, scissors.
Carol turned to Rick with a nod. "I think it will be." She assured as she kept her arm wrapped around Daryl's.
Daryl cleared his throat. "Rick, the way I acted-"
"That's not on you, Daryl. It's not on you. Havin' you okay, that's what matters."
Daryl just nodded. "I'm good."
"Good." Rick nodded back as he swallowed hard. "I'm sure the others wanna see you."
"Why?" Daryl lowered a brow. "After the scene I jus' put on? I can't face 'em."
"Okay but you're gonna have to tell Maggie that 'cause I promised I'd bring you back and if I show up empty handed it'll be your ass that she kicks." Rick explained.
Daryl's eyes widened. If there was a bigger secret he had, besides the scars on his back, it would be his fear of Maggie. "Let's not keep her waitin' then." He stated, trying his best to not give away any hints.
Daryl lead the way back to the lake. His mind tried to grasp the idea of acceptance, it was something he never really understood, though he felt calm knowing that everything was going to be okay - well, if Maggie didn't kill him for not being truthful, but Carol and Rick had been so reassuring that she wouldn't.
"Daryl!" Maggie exclaimed, surprised that Rick had actually followed through with his promise.
"Hey." He gave her a weak smile and looked to the others. "Sorry 'bout my little... hissy fit."
"Don't apologize, you kinda had the right to be mad." Shane shrugged. "You know that we're here for you man, right?"
"Do now." Daryl nodded.
Shane debated on whether he should continue or not. He was never good with using words to describe his feelings so he'd usually let Rick say the lovey-dovey things, but this time it needed to be said by him. "On that note, I don't care what anybody else says- we're a family, man. What we have… that's gotta be somethin' more than a friendship, right? It has to be. And I know that I'm not just speaking for myself here."
"I here ya." Daryl said before shock took over him as Shane pulled him in and patted his back. Walsh giving hugs? The world's gotta be ending.
Tara smiled at the sight of the two boys hugging and when Shane stepped back she rushed in, almost tackling Daryl to the ground.
Hell must be near if Tara was giving out hugs too. Nonetheless he held her back but couldn't help but ask, "Tara? Are you… hugging me?"
Tara huffed and nodded before replying, "Well I'm not strangling you. Why don't boys understand hugs?"
"Must be a guy thing." Michonne shrugged.
"But Shane and Daryl just hugged." Maggie pointed out.
"Excuse me! It's called a bro hug. It wasn't actually a hug!" Shane said before he realized how much he was sounding like a girl.
"I don't care what it's called, a hug is a hug." Tara stated as she finally pulled away from Daryl.
After she let go, Lori cleared her throat.
"I'm glad you're okay, Daryl." She gave him a sweet smile. "Let's face it, without you, our puzzle wouldn't be complete. Those scars on your back don't define you as a person. I know you're better than that Daryl, and I know you know that already. I just wanted to remind you because I think you forget how cool you really are sometimes."
"Wow Lori… that was, actually nice." Michonne said trying hard to not show her shock but ended up failing miserably.
"What? I can be a nice person!" Lori said in offense as she dramatically flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"I'm sensing a group hug." Tara squealed.
"Well sense again." Shane huffed before he was unwillingly pulled into the arms of his team members.
In the center of the group was Daryl, sure it was nice to know that he had the support of his friends but being trapped the way he was brought him to his third biggest fear - being confined in tiny places… no wonder he loved the outdoors.
"I won." An exhausted voice caused everyone to break apart as their eyes landed on Kelly who was dripping wet. "I'm gonna go dry off." She stated and before anyone could say anything to her she, very stiffly, walked way.
Summer...Summer...Summer
After the long day, Maggie decided to head out for a walk by herself to help clear her head. She enjoyed the sounds of nature as the birds sang soft songs and the bushes swayed to the touch of the warm summer's breeze. She pushed herself up on a large rock and sat down to watch the sun slowly move it's way under the horizon as it turned the sky a soft orange.
Maggie took her gaze off the sky for a quick second before her eyes instantly landed on the very boy she had been thinking about.
"Glenn?" Maggie leaned forward. "What are you up to?"
"I was actually trying to find a good spot to watch the sky- looks like you beat me to it." He let out a soft chuckle as he felt somewhat awkward. Truth was, he and Rick both saw Maggie walk up this trail and Rick made him go after her.
"You watch the sunset too?" Maggie questioned a little surprised.
Now I do. "Just sometimes." Glenn shrugged.
"Well, it jus' so happens that there's enough space up here for two." She patted the solid stone she was on.
Glenn smiled as he got himself up on the rock, settling down beside Maggie. "The sky loo-"
"I know." Maggie turned to look at him with a smirk across her lips. "You're gonna tell me the sky looks beautiful, even though we both know you're actually tryin' to give me a compliment." Her smile grew when Glenn's mouth dropped. "That's all you've ever done, Glenn, was make me feel special. So how about I give you some compliments for a change."
Glenn raised a brow. "You don't have to do that, Maggie."
"I know, but I want to." She said as she slid her hand into his. "Glenn," She started before her cheeks turned a bright red. "You are the kindest and sweetest guy I have ever met. You're smart, funny, and I love how when you get nervous you start to tell jokes and though nobody laughs out loud, I can tell that they want to." Maggie loved seeing that she had made him smile from her words. She took in some air before she looked him directly in his warm brown eyes. "You bring out the best in people. You bring out the best in me. I'd be the luckiest girl in the world if you, Glenn Rhee took me as your girlfriend."
"Maggie Greene, are you asking me to be your boyfriend?" Glenn lifted a brow.
A soft giggle came from her as she nodded. "I am."
Glenn looked over the soft edges of her face before he fell into the the pool of blue in her eyes. "Of course." He whispered while grabbing the side of her face with a gentle hand and leaning in, he locked his lips with hers.
So sorry for the long wait! I was focusing on school, but I'm back now! This chapter is brought to you by the reviewer: Rickyl is life. Thank you so much for providing the idea of Walking Dead team finding out about Daryl's scars. I enjoyed writing it! (If y'all have little cute moments you would like to see in a chapter, be sure to mention it in a review!)
Next chapter: A sweet Rosita and Abraham moment! Of course Richonne, Glaggie, and Caryl ( but will the group find out about these couples? You'll have to wait and see!)
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...Until Next Time...