That season premier was just mind-blowing. Going to watch it for the 3rd time now.

And about this little story, I know this may be too predictable, but! it is a romantic AU story after all, in which these things tend to happen. Won't be the only obstacle though.

Hope you like it. It's a long one too! :)

S.-

25.

Daryl was driving in silence. He hadn't said a word to Merle since he'd woken up. He felt kind of guilty of being in such an awful mood in Merle's last hour of freedom, but he felt he didn't want to talk in the whole day, hell, the whole week even. He knew, because he had seen it, that Merle had taken Carol back to Andrea's. A part of him was glad, a part of him was eager to know every detail about whatever they'd talk about, a part of him prayed Merle didn't say anything about it.

'Spit it out, lil' brotha'.
'Wha'?'
'Fine. Didn' know we were gonna play tha fools tha whole ride man.'
'I'm no' in tha greatest of moods here k Merle? Say what ya wanna say and shut up then.'

Merle laughed, too loudly for Daryl's like.
'She really got into ya huh lil' brotha? Changin' yer mood an' everythin'.
'not cause of 'er'.
'Oh yea? So why are ya all moody bro? Are ya in yer period or somethin?'
Daryl tried to ignore the comment. 'don' like arguin' wit' people 's all.'

'Ya know wha' Darylina? I'm no fuckin' example on how to treat women so I won' say nothin' bout tha', but you jus' can't leave a woman in yer yard in the middle 'f the nigh' bro, I may do tha', but it jus' don' fuckin' suit ya'.

'Wha' the fuck 's wrong with ya man? Dontcha think 's a lil' late for the older brother's adviser fuckin' role? Wasn' gonna leave 'er there anyway, was tryin' to figure out what ta do and then ya took her. What did she say to ya, if we're gonna fuckin' talk 'bout it anyway?'

'Not a word lil' brotha. Nice lady ya got or used ta got there… thanked me for the ride and got 'er pretty ass inside tha house'.

'Comin' to see you on Saturday before tha' fuckin' weddin. Don't fuck up.', Daryl said when they arrived.
'Fine, Darylina, sounds like a plan. Ya fix it up, 'fore yer brotha makes a move on her. Or someone else does.'

'Fuck you.'

...

Carol had been trying to follow every single part of Andrea's advices. She forgot some of them, every now and then, but she knew it involved getting out of the house, buying a nice dress for the wedding, deleting Daryl's number from her contacts list, among others. Milton and Andrea had taken her to every kind of existent place in the city during the whole week, from picnics to the movies, to a fancy restaurant and even to a night club on Friday night. She appreciated it, but it was getting kind of weird. Now it was Saturday, the wedding's day, and she was lying on her bed, the dress she had bought in the morning spreaded next to her. It was a simple, yet pretty dress and Andrea and the shop seller both agreed that she looked amazing and stunning and what not in it. The dress was a strong blue and it hit above the knee. It tied on the back leaving it uncovered and it had a coloured belt around the waist. She had bought silver high heel sandals and a pair of earrings too, and she was starting to wonder if she was going to be able to walk at all. Andrea kept telling her all the week how she had to look stunning and breath- taking for Daryl to regret about the whole thing, Carol arguing that was just a contradiction since she had also been saying she had to forget about Daryl and make it all about her. She was confused, but she figured that looking good for the wedding wouldn't hurt anyone, and it may also do good to her self-esteem a little.

The truth was, she wouldn't have thought that what happened with Daryl would make her feel as sad as she was feeling now. It wasn't just about him, about the fact that she liked him, although that was a big part of it. But having met him only 2 weeks after the events with Ed had actually made her think there might be something else out there, some good things for her after all, and that life was going to be easier and better and that it might include some attractive man like Daryl was. It's not that she didn't think it could be like that anymore… but everything had happened so fast and it had lasted so short that her reality was now feeling like a tough wall. And then there was Daryl, and the fact that she'd realized she liked him… that she'd have liked to try something, as weird as it sounded or maybe she just felt it because it was over now. But it wasn't only the fact that he was attractive and that her heart stopped beating every time she saw him, it was that she liked his quietness, even his moody nature… she liked about him that he was so attached to nature, to his plants and to the animals he hunted, that he stayed by himself in the middle of the woods… that he was so smart yet he wasn't trying to show it all the time… and then there was the mind blowing sex and all that… so yes, she knew he wasn't prince charming or anything like that, but that made him even more real to her. She knew all things Andrea said to her were true: that it was better to end it now, that it would have been much more difficult otherwise, that she'd recover just as she did with everything else. But all those things meant leaving him behind, and that was always going to be sad.

...

'Carol, you look beautiful, you really do'. Andrea smiled as she put some spray to her hair.
'You sure?'
'Oh, absolutely. Never seen ya looking so good actually. That dress fits you perfectly, you have such an amazing body behind those loose clothes you wear!'
'Thank you Andrea. You look gorgeous yourself, those aren't news though'. She winked at her. 'Poor Milton, you're going to give that guy a heart attack anytime soon'.
Andrea chuckled. 'Ya ready? Just remember, no crying, no leaving the room, no smiling to him. Just pretend he isn't there. He may not make it anyway.'
Carol sighed. 'I know, I will.. I'll just… try to have a good time, I promise.'

Daryl was fixing his tie. He hadn't even shaved, since he decided just 30 minutes ago he was actually going to that wedding. As he tried to look for a clean shirt, he started to wonder what'd have been so wrong about driving Carol to the fuckin' party after all. He had been thinking about that a lot later… about the fact that he could still be seeing her every now and then, hadn't he been an asshole and freaked out about a fuckin' ride. He had felt threatened, for some reason, when Carol had asked that that day. He had felt that if he said yes, there was no going back and they'd all of a sudden start doing all those things couples did… he had felt trapped and he knew that wasn't what Carol was trying to do anyway, it wasn't her fault, it was just him who had been kind of paranoid. And now he was going to see her in that wedding, but what was there to say anyway? He didn't apologize, had never done it, not once in his whole life, and he didn't feel like starting now, because he wasn't sure he had done anything wrong anyway… 'should have given ya that ride to tha wedding, wasn't such a big deal after all, now can we sleep together again?', that didn't sound right either.

...

Carol had always thought Maggie was one of the prettiest women in town. But now, in that white dress and with that huge smile on her face, she was just a sight. And Glenn was looking at her as if he had just won the lottery or something, looking good too in a grey tuxedo. Everyone was smiling and toasting and the wedding was just wonderful.
As the sun started to go down, the music began with Beth's band singing some dance songs they had prepared specifically for the ocassion, the glasses of soda replaced by beers, whiskey or champagne. Carol was standing near their table with Andrea, beers in both their hands, when she saw him arrive. And it was just too much, watching him all dressed up, looking hot and every other existent word to describe nice things… her fantasies about her taking his tuxedo off when they were still seing each other coming back to her head in just one second. Carol couldn't help it and found herself pinching Andrea's arm and nodding to the direction Daryl had came in.

'He's… he always looks good, but… just look around! There are many guys who look even better!'

Andrea lied, because she actually almost choked at the sight of Daryl in that black tux. 'Come on, Carol, we're going to fill these. Be right back honey', Andrea kissed Milton on the cheek and they headed towards the bar. As the bartender filled their glasses, Carol kept glancing at Daryl when she thought he wasn't looking. She sighed in frustration when she spotted some women check him out too. He was now talking to T and his date, and Herman and Monica. Almost everyone she knew had brought a date after all, everyone but him. And it wouldn't be long until some of the single women in the party noticed it and jumped on him, she thought. She was caught up in her thinking she almost jumped when she felt Andrea elbow her wrists. 'What?' she almost yelled.

'Nothing, it's just… that guy over there who's almost eating you with his eyes', Andrea whispered to her, laughing a little.

'What? what guy?' Carol said, looking all around.

'Can't ya be more obvious Carol? There, on your right. Don't know him, don't think he's from here', Andrea said in the same whisper Carol suddenly found very funny. She slowly spinned around then, trying to pretend she was bothered by some light blinking on her face, and surprised a little when she saw a big man leaning against a column, a drink on his hand, his eyes definitely focused on her. She wasn't sure if it was that annoying light, but he was actually smiling slightly at her too, his eyebrows raised a little.

'He's very nice, Ca… oh my god, I think he's actually coming!'
'Shut up, Andrea', Carol said with a smile, trying to hide the fact that they were talking about him and pretending to be talking about dresses instead.

'Hi, ladies. Hope I'm not bothering you'.
Carol didn't know what to do other than smile at the big, afroamerican man who was now standing in front of her. To her luck, Andrea never ran out of words.

'Hi! No, not at all. We were just getting some more drinks. I'm Andrea, this here is Carol.'
'Nice to meet you both, I'm Tyresse, and it appears I just lost my friends. Can't find them anywhere.'
'Oh? Who did you come with?' Carol was still mute.

'Got here with a bunch of 5 or 6 guys, you see, we were all Glenn's mates in high school back there in Senoia. Don't see each other as frequently as we would like to, but we're still pretty close anyway. We've been here for a few days now, helping him with the wedding stuff. It's the first time we come here though, we usually make him go to Senoia. Revive old times'… the man chuckled.

'It's good you still are so attached! Hey, I'm sorry, but I actually lost my date in the middle of the dance hall, and he ain't exactly a dancer. Maybe you can join us later though', Andrea smiled and turned to Carol, who looked at her with her eyes wide open. 'Nice to meet you, Tyresse, and hope Annandale treats you just fine'.
'Thank you, Andrea, nice to meet you too'. The man gave her a gentle smile, and focused on Carol again.

'So, um, Carol, right? I'm sorry I was staring at you like that, I just got to say it though, you're looking beautiful tonight'. There it was… that gentle smile again; 'here', he said, grabbing her empty glass. 'What were you drinking? Let me get it for you'.
'Oh, um, beer is just fine. Thank you', she said, trying to smile back.

...

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, could be 30 minutes, could be an hour, but she was still standing in the same place, talking to this charming man, even laughing along with him. He told her he was 30 and he worked as an engineer in some enterprise back there in Senoia. Apparently he was an outdoors man too, and practiced paragliding in his free time. He even told her funny anecdotes about Glenn's teenage years, how he met Maggie and all kinds of random but interesting stuff. Even though she was having a good time, she kept remembering Daryl was still somewhere in the wedding, and every now and then she'd glance around, looking for him.

Tyresse had finally managed to convince her to hit the dance floor with Andrea and Milton, when she felt someone bump into her, so hard it almost made the contents of her glass spread all over her. She knew it before looking up, but she did anyway. And yes, it was Daryl.

'Watch out', he muttered, walking past her.
'Hey, you watch out man, almost made her drop her glass'.
Daryl turned around then, with such an angry expression plastered on his face it made Carol step back a little, wondering if he was just going to punch the guy on the face.

'And who the hell are ya?'
'Just be careful man, that's all I'm saying, no looking for any trouble here', and he put his hand on Carol's lower back, as to continue their way to the dance hall.
Daryl turned to look at her, his eyes narrowed: 'jesus, I don' fuckin' believe ya', and he walked away.

'You ok? What was wrong with him?' Tyresse said as he checked on her dress to see if some beer had spilled over it.
'I'm fine… he's just… awkward around people I guess', she tried to focus on Tyresse other than on Daryl who had gone outside, and was lighting a cigarrete and staring at her with the same expression she couldn't define as anger or dissapointment.

...

Daryl felt he couldn't do anything other than watching how this guy was making Carol spin around in the middle of the dance floor. He was whispering things to her as they danced and to Daryl's surprise, Carol was smiling at him, holding his own hand as she made him dance with her. Hell, he was even talking to Andrea and Milton every now and then, as if they were his closest friends. He felt like the most idiot asshole of the whole country, staring at her the whole night, thinking of how fucking beautiful she was looking in that blue dress which perfectly matched her eyes, trying to find the strenght to just walk to her and tell her that next time he'd give her a fuckin' ride anywhere she wanted, if that meant he could take her with him tonight, and the night after. And there she was, having one hell of a time with this guy he didn't know. Anger was building inside him and he felt the situation was too absurd... He figured he'd just take off, go kill some animal in the woods… then he saw Andrea next to the window, recovering from her dancing he supposed, and without thinking, he headed in that direction.

When Andrea saw him walk towards her, she raised an eyebrow. 'Want a smoke?' The tone of her voice almost sarcastic.

'Ya tell yer friend ove' there, tonight's a good nigh' as any to become such a slut', his finger raised and pointed to her face as he spoke.

'You watch your mouth, Daryl, and don't you ever talk about Carol like that. It could have been you with her tonight, now if you were such a pussy, deal with it yourself.' Andrea answered, calmly and almost defiantly.

Daryl stared at her for a few seconds, his finger stil raising in the air, mumbling something before turning around and leaving the party.

When he got into the truck, he sighed heavily. This was going to be a long fucking night.