Thank you for being patient with these two! Don't worry the payoff will be coming soon! :)
This chapter has been rewritten.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Before Daryl knew it, Friday arrived. It was all too quick for Daryl. Normally, he looked forward to the day knowing that once the school bell rang to signal the end of classes, he would be off for the next two days. However, this time when the bell rang, it meant that Daryl's freedom was over. He would be going...shopping.
Carol was approaching his locker with a wide smile that looked slightly smug to Daryl, and a noticeable bounce to her step. It looked like she was just as excited for the shopping trip as Daryl wasn't.
Daryl rolled his eyes and placed his books in his locker. Carol stopped beside him, the smile even wider. "So, I saw the perfect dress in town the other day." She gushed. "They had it in a few different colors, I think. You'll have to tell me which color I look best in."
He groaned as he closed his locker door and leaned his forehead against it. Maybe if he slammed his head hard enough he could knock himself out. Surely a trip to the ER would be enough of an excuse to get out of shopping. Carol wasn't that heartless.
"Oh, come on, Daryl." She nudged him in the side. "It's not going to be that bad. How about after we're done shopping, I'll take you out to eat. My treat and your pick."
"The only place to eat in this damn town is the diner." Finally, Daryl turned his head to look down at his friend.
"I guess that's where we'll go, then." She shrugged.
He rolled his eyes. "You know how much I hate that place. Everyone looks at me like I have three heads or somethin'." Together, they began walking down the hallway. Soon, Carol would be shopping for a dress and he would be in hell.
"Oh." She seemed shocked. "I'm sorry. I didn't know... Well, we won't have to go there. Instead, I'll make you dinner! If that's okay with you."
"All right. I trust your cookin', so it'll be fine." Any time alone with Carol and away from others, was well worth the shopping trip. But he couldn't let her know that. So, he decided he would still give her a hard time. "However, I don't know if your cookin' will make up for the hour of hell you'll be puttin' me through." He smirked.
"Really, Daryl?" She gave him a narrow-eyed stare. "Is shopping really that horrible for you to endure, even for an hour? It's like I'm taking you to the dentist and getting all your teeth ripped out."
"I'd rather go to the dentist," he mumbled and peeked at her from the corner of his eye, wanting to see how she would react. He was not disappointed.
"Dammit, Daryl," she cursed and stomped her foot. "If I knew you were going to be this whiny about going I would have taken Merle, instead. At least that way I would be able to ride the bike, again."
"Pfft," he snorted. "Do you really think Merle would actually go shoppin' with you? He's a Dixon and would probably chop his own dick off before bein' caught dead in a clothin' store or any other store for that matter."
"Hold on. You want me to do what with you?" Merle towered in the doorway of his home and looked down at his nervous, bespectacled friend.
"Well, um, I would like it if you would go shopping with me for a tux." His hands were clenching and unclenching in front of him and his thumbs twiddled together. "I'd rather not do it by myself. I think it would be...embarrassing."
"And havin' me go with would make things better? Do you even know how I am?"
"I know your reputation isn't the greatest in this town, but you treated me all right these past several days and I'd like to think you consider me a friend."
"I do," Merle said honestly and crossed his arms over his chest. "But are you sure you really want to be seen with me in public?" He ran a hand over the scruff on his chin, noticing that he hadn't shaved in awhile. "And what about your parents. How would they react if they found out? You have that nice lookin' car, so I figure they are well off. They wouldn't want me anywhere near you."
Milton shook his head. "They won't care." He looked down at his hands and added, "They'd probably be happy that I have a friend."
Merle was happier that he let on about having Milton as a friend, but he would never reveal his true feelings aloud. Never. All the other people he considered friends were either drunks, druggies or both, and since he had been cutting down on the drugs, he knew he shouldn't hang around those types of people, anymore. Milton didn't do either and abhorred the thought of even trying them.
"All right," he said. "I'll go with you."
Milton smiled. "Really? Thanks."
"I ain't got anythin' better to do." He looked behind him into the living room where the TV was still on and there was an indent on the couch from where his ass had been just a few minutes before. He really needed to get out more.
"Great. So, are you ready to go now?"
Merle glanced down at his stained white shirt and dirty jeans. Sniffing his armpit, he reeled back from the smell. When was the last time he had changed clothes? Hell. When was the last time he showered?
"Fuck. Uh, how about you give me an hour? I'm a little ripe." He ran a hand over his chin, again. "And I think I should probably shave, too."
Milton seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Merle would be cleaning up a bit before joining him and Merle knew that his friend would be the last person to suggest he take a shower.
"All right. How about when you're ready and clean, you come over to my place?"
"Sure," Merle agreed.
Milton gave him the address and Merle gave him a nod before retreating into the house.
Daryl parked the truck in front of the only dress shop in town and reluctantly opened the door to step out. Carol had practically flown out of her seat and was now on his side of the vehicle, urging him to hurry up. Once his feet hit the pavement, she tugged on his arm and pulled him into the store. He was nearly blinded by all the dresses and the various colors each dress came in. Carol looked like a little kid in a candy store with the wide smile on her face and the way she bounced excitedly on her toes.
When she finally let go of his arm, she rushed to the nearest rack of dresses, auburn curls flying behind her, and began to sort through. The smile and excited twinkle in her eye never left. Despite how beautiful Daryl thought she looked at that moment, being so happy, he couldn't help but groan as he followed her from rack to rack. There was no way he would only be here for an hour.
Fuck.
"Milton, honey," Susan Mamet called from the kitchen where she was staring up into one of the cupboards. "What would you like for supper tonight?"
Milton looked up from the science magazine he had been reading on his bed. The kitchen was only down the hall from his room and the door was open, so he had heard his mother clearly. "I'm not going to be here for supper, Mom. I'm going out with a friend soon." It had only been a half hour since he had left Merle's, but he had no idea how long it would take his friend to get cleaned up.
There was silence and Milton went back to his magazine, unfazed. "What?" The sudden appearance of his mom in the doorway caused him to jump. She stood with one hand on her hip and with the other; she brushed a few strands of her dark brown hair from her face. "Did you say you were going out with a friend?"
Great. He knew this would happen. "Yeah, Mom. I did." He placed his magazine on his nightstand and sat up, knowing that this wouldn't be a short conversation.
A bright smile let up her face and she clapped her hands together. "That's great, honey! Who is it? Would I know them?" His mother worked as a receptionist in the only doctor's office in town, so she pretty much knew everyone since Dr. Conway was the only doctor around for miles.
"Milton!" A male voice called from another part of the house, most-likely the living room where his father liked to sit in his chair and read. "I think there's someone outside for you. I heard them pull up. It sounded like a...motorcycle?"
Milton stood up from his bed and made his way to the front door, hoping to make his escape before his parents saw who he was hanging out with. Unfortunately, couldn't happen as his mother followed him to the door and his father joined them there.
"Paul, Milton told me that he and a friend are hanging out, today! Isn't that exciting?" His mother gushed and Milton blushed. She was treating him like he was five. She always had.
His father placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled, his glasses sliding a little down his nose. "It's about time someone realized how awesome you are, son."
Milton couldn't decide which was worse; the fact that his mother was practically vibrating with excitement because he was hanging out with a friend or that his father just used the word 'awesome'.
Mr. Mamet led his wife to the large bay window in their living room. "Let's see who it is?" Before Milton could stop them, they were pulling back the curtain and looking out.
With their backs to him, he figured it might be a perfect opportunity to sneak out before they could realize who it was outside. However, before his hand touched the brass handle of the door, his mother's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Um, darling, why is Merle Dixon sitting in our driveway?" Both parents turned questioning looks his way.
"Well, you see," he started, giving them a weak smile. "He's the friend I'm hanging out with. He's going to help me look for a tux for prom."
Paul Mamet narrowed his eyes. "Is that another saying for 'getting high'?"
"No!" Milton exclaimed. "We're really shopping for a tux." Behind his eyes began to throb as he felt a headache coming on. He should have just kept his mouth shut and when Merle showed up, he should have just climbed out of his window.
"My baby!" Mrs. Mamet cried, suddenly, and covered her face with her hands. "You've turned gay on us, haven't you? And with a Dixon, too!"
"W-What?" Of all the things his parents could have said about him hanging out with Merle, that was it?
"It's all right, son." His father placed a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder. "You can be honest with us. We'll still love you no matter what your sexual preference is."
Milton groaned. This was not where he wanted this conversation to go. In fact, he hadn't wanted to have any type of conversation at all.
"I'm not gay, Dad," he managed to ground out. "Merle is just a friend and he's taking me tux shopping because I'm going to prom with two girls."
"Two girls?" His mother's head shot up, the tears gone.
"Two girls?" His father repeated, a smile spreading across his face. He raised his hand and gave Milton a thumbs up and wink, mouthing 'That's my boy.'
Shrugging off her husband's hand, Susan took a step towards her son. "You never mentioned going to prom before today." She smiled. "Now, tell us the two girls you're going with."
"One is a friend, her name is Carol, and the other girl actually asked me to go with her and her name is Andrea." He hoped that now his mother would allow him to leave. Merle was probably wondering what was taking him so long.
"I know both of those girls! I'm proud of you, Milton. You couldn't have picked two better young women."
"Thanks, mom," he mumbled. "Now, I really need to go."
"Hold up, son," his dad spoke up, sounding stern, which was something new for him. "We still don't approve of you spending time with a Dixon." He said the name like it left a bad taste in his mouth and it angered Milton.
He clenched his fists. "There is nothing wrong with the Dixons," he bit out, surprised that he was talking to his parents this way. "Merle and Daryl have all right by me. Some of those rumors may be true about Merle, but he hasn't done anything to me that would suggest he was a bad person."
His parents looked at him, speechless.
Satisfied, Milton finally turned to the door and opened it. "I'll be back before curfew." With those parting words, he closed the door on their shocked faces.
Daryl lost count of the number of dresses Carol had tried on and flaunted in front of him. They all started to blur together as time wore on and he knew he wasn't going to be much help when it came to picking out one of them. There was one thing he knew; it was that she looked the most beautiful when she put on any blue dress, especially ones that matched her eyes and showed off her beautiful pale skin.
"Daryl?"
His head snapped up at the sound of his name and he was greeted by Carol, who stood in front of him wearing her street clothes.
"Are we finally done?" He tried hard to not sound too excited.
"Yep!" She smiled.
He looked around for the dress she had chosen, but saw that her arms were empty. "So, where is it?"
"Where's what?" She asked innocently and with a playful gleam in her eye. Daryl hated that gleam. It always meant she was fucking with him over something.
"The fuckin' dress you picked out," he growled.
"Oh." She started and headed for the door. "I didn't find anything I liked."
"What?" He nearly ran after her.
Carol was giggling as she walked to his truck and climbed into the passenger's seat. But there was no way in hell she was going to get away this. He swung up into the driver's seat and glared at her. "You best not be tellin' me that we just spent an hour and a half in that damn store for nothing!"
"I am." She was smiling like she was extremely happy with herself.
Daryl gave her a look over with narrowed eyes. Then, he realized something and his eyes widened. Son of a bitch! "You have a dress already, don't you?"
"What?" She gasped and placed a hand over her heart in mock surprise. "Now, why would I have you go dress shopping with me if I already have a dress?" She blinked her pretty blue eyes innocently.
"Because you're heartless and want to watch the world burn," Daryl growled and looked away from Carol. He knew if he continued to look at her wide innocent eyes, then his anger would dissipate and he wasn't ready to not be angry, yet.
"It got you out shopping with me, didn't it?" She playfully poked him in the ribs.
"I guess," he harrumphed and crossed his arms, still refusing to look her way, knowing she wouldn't be looking very smug once more. Sometimes he didn't know why he even put up with her.
Milton decided right away that he was not going back on that motorcycle ever again and had told Merle they would be taking his car. Of course, the older Dixon had complained but eventually climbed into the passenger's seat of Milton's car with a huff.
"No better fuckin' steal my bike, Milty," he growled as they pulled out of the driveway. Merle turned in his seat so he could keep an eye on his motorcycle until he could no longer see it, anymore
No one's going to steal it, Merle," Milton said in annoyance. "I live in a good neighborhood and my parents will also keep a good eye on it."
"Whatever. All I'm sayin' is when I come back and it's gone, I'm goin' to be hella pissed."
"It'll be there. I promise." Milton was started to wonder if he would regret asking Merle to come along.
"So," Merle said as he rolled down the window and leaned his arm out. "How come you asked me to come along and not my little brother?"
Turning off the air-conditioning, since Merle seemed to rather have the windows opened, he answered, "Because he's doing something with Carol tonight."
"Aw, I see how it is," Merle smirked. "He ditches you for his woman."
Milton smiled and rolled his eyes. If Milton had asked Daryl before he made plans with Carol, he was sure Daryl wouldn't have ditched him. "Oh." He suddenly remembered something. "Speaking of women, weren't you and Maggie supposed to be going on a date tonight?"
"We were," Merle sighed. "But she called earlier, saying she couldn't make it tonight and asked if we could reschedule for next Friday."
"I see." He kept his eyes on the road and turned down a street. "But at least you're still going on a date and she didn't call to cancel all together."
"Yeah, I suppose." Merle still didn't look any happier. "I still wanted to see her tonight." He looked out the window. "Hey, what do you know, that's Daryl's truck." He pointed to the old truck parked in front of the dress shop, which happened to be right next to the tux shop.
"So that's what Daryl's been doing with Carol." Milton parked his car next to the truck. "Carol must have wanted him to go dress shopping with her."
Merle laughed. "I feel sorry for that boy. That girl is a handful and he's fuckin' whipped."
When Milton turned off his car, he glanced at Merle and was surprised to see Daryl and Carol sitting in the truck next to them. Merle turned to see what his friend was looking at and smirked. "Hm. Do you think they were makin' out?"
Milton placed his head on the steering wheel and groaned.
"Hey, Daryl, isn't that Milton and your brother?" Carol asked, peering over Daryl's shoulder into the car beside them.
Daryl turned even though he thought this was a way of distracting him, but was surprised to see Merle peering through the window and waving at him with a goofy grin.
Rolling down his window, Daryl narrowed his eyes and asked, "What the hell are you doin' here, Merle?"
Milton joined Merle by the window, pushing up his glasses, and Merle threw an arm around his friend. "Ol' Milty, here, asked me to go tux shopping with him. He knows I have great taste."
"I didn't even think you knew what a tux was, Merle," Carol said, innocently. Daryl snorted a laugh and held out a hand for a high five. Carol slapped his hand with a large smile.
"And I thought Dixons never went shopping unless they absolutely fuckin' had to." Carol turned to Daryl, crossing her arms and quirking an eyebrow.
"We don't," he grumbled.
"I beg to differ." Carol elbowed him and pointed to Merle.
Daryl turned to her and opened his mouth, but Merle stopped him before any words could leave it. "Well, while you two flirt, me and Milty have some shoppin' to do. So, if you'll excuse us." He turned to leave.
"Wait!" Carol practically threw herself over Daryl. Milton and Merle stopped and looked back at her.
"I'm making dinner later for Daryl. Would you two like to come over too? I'll being making plenty of food."
Daryl tensed. It was only supposed to be just the two of them tonight. He glared at Merle, hoping that his brother would refuse the offer. But of course, Merle ignored him and smiled. "Sure! It's been awhile since I've had a decent home-cooked meal. Milty will come, too."
"All right. Awesome." She smiled and waved. "I'll see you two later, then."
Daryl wanted to demand why Carol had invited Merle and Milton for dinner. He had been looking forward to the time they would be spending alone. But he kept his mouth shut and eyes focused out the window. If she wanted to cook for the whole state of Georgia, then there was no way he could stop her.
"Daryl?" Her soft voice broke him out of his thoughts and when he turned his head, he was surprised to find her face so close. If he moved just a few inches his mouth would be on hers.
The air in the truck became unbearably hot, even with the windows down. He needed to get out of there. Now. Scrambling for the door handle, he jerked it open and climbed out. Carol had been momentarily surprised by his actions, but was soon following closely behind.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothin," he muttered. "Just wanted to take a little walk before head to your house. Is that all right?" Truthfully, he didn't want to tell her what was wrong because he knew it would sound petty and childish.
"Sure," she agreed, but still watched him closely. She knew there was something off...she always knew.
They walked together, side by side, and didn't speak. It was a comfortable silence, though, like it usually was when it was just them. It was one of the many reasons why they were such good friends. Not every second of the time they spent together had to be spent talking.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" A low voice sneered from behind them. Turning around, they found themselves looking at Ed Peletier and two of his friends. Ed had a smirk on his face and looked at Daryl.
"Looks like it's Dixon...and his prostitute." He moved cold eyes to Carol. "How much would you charge for a little fun in this alley here? I've got cash."
"What the hell did you just say?" Daryl's fists were clenched.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I should be asking you that question. So, Dixon, how much are you paying Carol to fuck you?"
Daryl saw red and lunged. He was going to kill this motherfucker.
"Fuck!" Merle cried, earning him a few glares from the other customers, as he looked out the big glass window in front of the store.
"What?" Milton asked from one of the dressing rooms. He was still in the process of trying on a tux when he heard Merle curse.
"Looks like my baby brother got himself into a little trouble." Merle watched the confrontation from the window, knowing that if it were to come to a fight, it would be three against one. Not very good odds for Daryl. Carol would also get hurt, as well, because there was no way she would step away from a fight where Daryl could possibly get hurt.
"I'll be back," he called to his friend and ran out of the store.
Three against one. They weren't very good odds, but Daryl had been in enough fights with Merle to know that he would be able to hold his own. He had gotten a good swing on Ed, his fist collided with the guy's nose, before he turned to take care of Ed's two lackeys.
Carol stood a few feet away behind him, way to close to the fight for Daryl's comfort, and was screaming at them to stop. But he knew he wouldn't be able to stop. The blood was pumping fast through his veins and he wouldn't quit until Ed paid for calling Carol a prostitute. He could take insults to himself, but to insult Carol? There was no way he would let that slide.
One of the lackeys had managed to wrap an arm around his neck, but Daryl had barely noticed as he reached for the other one. Ed was still on the ground wailing about his broken nose. But soon the grip on his neck loosened and the look on the other guys face had Daryl stopping. They looked afraid.
"Do you need any help kickin' ass, little brother?" Merle stood behind him, hands on hips and smirking.
Both of Ed's lackeys fled, leaving their leader by himself. Ed struggled to his feet and wiped the blood pouring from his nose, only to smear it across his face. He looked at the Dixon brothers, eyes flashing in anger.
"I'm going to fucking kill you, trash!" Ed lunged.
Merle stood back and let the two of them roll around, knowing that Daryl would have the upper hand. Ed flailed around while Daryl's punches were precise. He held out an arm just as Carol rushed forward to stop the two, but didn't know she was sobbing until she gripped his arm in a steel vice.
She was terrified for Daryl.
Merle knew he needed to put a stop to the fight and decided that Daryl had had enough fun for now. Reaching down, he grabbed his brother by the back of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. Daryl was still swinging.
"Daryl!" Merle shook him hard. Instantly, Daryl stilled when he was made to face Carol, who was still silently crying.
"Why don't you take care of your woman and I'll get this prick."
Still shaking from the adrenaline, Daryl nodded and stepped up to Carol, who gave him a hug and squeezed. Hugs for Daryl were rare, but he gladly accepted this one. "Come on," he said into her hair. "Let's get to my truck and get out of here." He led her away with a hand on the small of her back.
Merle looked down at the asshole, who was still on his knees trying to catch his breath and with blood still pouring from his nose and onto the pavement. Merle grabbed him by the collar and lifted him from the ground so that they were face to face. Ed's feet didn't touch the concrete.
"Today ain't your lucky day, boy!"
Thanks for reading!