"Dammit" Daryl yelled as he slammed his hand into the steering wheel of the truck. Merle looked over at him and chuckled at the sight.
"Calm down baby brother! She is going to understand tomorrow and all will be forgiven. Then you can do it right and ask her out" Merle said with his signature smile on his face.
"I shouldn'a ran the way I did. She is gunna think I don't like 'er. I just got all nervous. Never had to keep secret a party. Hell, never been invited to a surprise party 'fore" he mumbled then started hitting the steering wheel again as a string of curses flew from his mouth.
"Listen Daryl" Merle started, causing Daryl to stop hitting the wheel when Merle used his real name, not baby brother or Darylina. "Sweet Pea knows you like 'er. It's written all over you damn face every time you are in the same room with her, or when somebody brings her up. Tomorrow when she arrives at the party, you pull her aside and explain acting like a fool. Use the Dixon charm on 'er" Merle said with a smile. Daryl snorted at that and went from looking at his brother back to the street in front of him.
"You got all of the Dixon charm Merle" Daryl mumbled. Merle turned back to look at him and raised his eyebrow. He always knew his baby brother was clueless when it came to the opposite sex. The ladies would throw themselves at Daryl when they went out, especially after they got an eye full of his arms, but Daryl would always be oblivious to them. He had never even seen his brother fuss over a woman as much as he did Beth.
"Don't sell yourself short. Sweet Pea must have seen something that she likes. And if one of the Greene girls likes ya, than there is somethin' good about cha'" Merle said with a chuckle and a nod of his head.
"What do I say to 'er?" Daryl asked as he placed the side of his thumb in his mouth.
"Just what you told me. Ya got nervous cuz you never had to keep a secret like this before. Then ask her out" Merle said matter of factly, like it was the most simple thing in the world. Daryl grunted an agreement, while in his head wondering if he could actually string that many words together without looking like a bigger fool to Beth. He just hoped that she wasn't upset tonight. But if she was, he would do whatever he could to make it up to her.
"You ok Bethy? You've been awful quiet since you got in the car. Did something happen with Daryl?" Maggie asked as she turned to look at her sister in the backseat. Beth had been quiet almost the entire ride to her apartment and Maggie was concerned.
"What? I'm sorry Maggie" Beth asked as she finally looked up at Maggie. She could see the look of sadness in Beth's eyes and her big sister, protective side started coming out.
"Daryl, did something happen between you two? I saw you talking to him before he took off for the truck and you have been quiet ever since" she asked, looking at Beth again.
"I asked him out for tomorrow and he said no and then took off like I burned him or something. I thought he was interested in me. I guess I was wrong." Beth said just above a whisper. Maggie turned her head to glance at Glenn for a moment, both of them instantly knowing why Daryl declined. It broke her heart to see her sister upset, and she knew for certain that Daryl did like her sister, so she flipped from big sister protective mod to big sister damage control mode.
"I'm sure there is a really good reason Beth. Maybe he really is busy tomorrow and you know how shy he is. He might have gotten a little embarrassed with such a beautiful woman asking him out. Give him a few days and I am 100% certain he will come to you" Maggie said with a smile. Beth looked up and met Maggie's eyes.
"You think so?" Beth asked, not really sure why she was taking this as hard as she was but there was just something so amazing about Daryl. She had been hooked the first moment she saw him.
"I know so! I'm your big sister right? Am I ever wrong?" Maggie asked with a hand placed on her chest. Beth started laughing and smiled brightly at her sister. Maggie smiled back at her, patted her on the leg and then spun back around in her seat. After she did, Beth laid her head on the back window and watched the scenery fly by as they drove the rest of the way to her apartment. 'Maggie is right' she told herself. 'Daryl is really shy. It's one of the things she likes most about him. Maybe she scared him. And he is a Dixon. They do have their codes….so maybe he wants to be the one to ask the girl?' she thought as she watched the trees speed by. By the time they arrived at her apartment, she felt much better and had decided to give him a few days. If she didn't hear anything, she would be hurt but she would go on like everything was ok because she would rather have him in her life as a friend than not at all.
Daryl and Merle pulled up to the Greene farm a little before the party was supposed to start and already they saw Glenn motioning for them to pull their bikes around to the back of the barn where all of the cars were also being hidden. As they walked back up toward the house, Maggie came down to meet them.
"Glad you both are here, Beth is going to be so thrilled" Maggie said with a huge smile. Daryl's ears pricked up at the mention of Beth's name.
"When is she supposed to be 'ere?" Daryl asked as he looked around at all of the decorations and people in the back yard. He recognized a few people and nodded toward Rick when the man waved in his direction.
"In a few moments. Rosita texted and said that she and Tara are bringing her now. They took her shopping to celebrate this morning and then I texted her with an emergency at the house that I needed her immediately for" Maggie said with a devilish grin as she motioned for them to come into the backyard more. Merle immediately saw Carol with Sophia and went over to chat, leaving Maggie and Daryl. Maggie eyed him for a moment before she spoke.
"She told me she asked you out and you freaked out. " Maggie said with a raised eyebrow. Daryl felt the tips of his ears turn red but nodded.
"Not good with this surprise shit. Got nervous and panicked." He mumbled out as he looked at the ground.
"I figured as much. Listen Daryl. My baby sister likes you. She is going to realize all of that as soon as she sees the party and you here, so do not worry about that. You just suck it up and ask her" Maggie stated and then smiled as she saw Daryl look up at her and his lips slip into a small grin. This was the second person to tell him the same thing. Daryl nodded in agreement with her and just as Maggie was going to say something, they heard a car pull up and Glenn come running out into the back yard.
"She's here" he hissed. Maggie looked over at Daryl and smiled as she took off into the house. After a moment, Daryl heard Beth's voice fill the inside of the house, calling for Maggie. Then a moment later the group heard both sisters.
"What's the emergency Maggie? Are you ok?" Beth asked.
"It's outside, your not going to believe it!" Maggie said as she pulled her sister toward the back door.
"What is it Maggie? Are you ok?" Beth asked again as she checked over her sister. She didn't look hurt, so she was puzzled as to why Maggie had asked for her to come. She looked back behind her at Tara and Rosita and they both just shrugged their shoulders at her.
"I'm fine…..you just gotta see this" Maggie said as she pulled the screen door open.
"See wha…." Beth started and then stopped when she walked out onto the back porch and everybody yelled out….
"SURPRISE!"
Beth stood there frozen as Maggie, Rosita and Tara all laughed and cheered. She started to slowly look around at all of the people in their back yard and then turned to Maggie.
"What's this for?" she asked softly, fighting back tears.
"It's your surprise graduation party" Maggie said, beaming at her. Beth sobbed and pulled Maggie toward her, hugging her tight. She opened her eyes while she hugged Maggie and her eyes landed on the most beautiful pair of blue eyes she had ever seen. This was why he couldn't do anything tonight. He gave her a small grin and Beth let the tears fall. She hugged her sister tightly and kept her eyes locked on those beautiful eyes that belonged to one of the most amazing men she had ever met.