Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Walking Dead. All characters belong to the creators of the television show and graphic novels.

Fools Rush In

Chapter 1

October 30, 2020

"Carol Mason, if you don't get your mopey behind out of that bed, put on something gorgeous and come out with me tonight, I'm going to have no choice but to call your parents and tell them you don't really have to study for Thanksgiving and that of course you'll be there."

"That's the meanest thing you've ever said to me," Carol groaned, throwing a pillow at her roommate, Michonne Hawthorne. Michonne yelped as the pillow hit her in the back, but her steady hand kept her from smudging her eyeliner.

"It's been two months since that piece of shit dumped you."

"He didn't dump me," Carol snapped. "He cheated on me, and I dumped him." Carol sat up in bed. "It's ten o'clock. I've got a test to study for."

"It's Friday night, Carol. Tomorrow's Halloween. It's a bon-fire. On a beach. I'm giving you some very good reasons to go, here. It's been a long time since we've gone out and done anything fun. I already told Rick I'd get you to come, and he's really excited to introduce you to his friend."

"There it is," Carol sighed. "Another desperate attempt to hook me up with some random guy. I already told you, Michonne. I'm not interested in a relationship right now."

"Ed Peletier isn't worth missing out on the best times of your life. You might have dumped him, but you haven't moved on." Carol sighed heavily but said nothing. Michonne had a point.

Perhaps it was her sheltered, over-protective upbringing, but she'd imagined dating Ed all through college, getting engaged and then getting married after graduation. It just seemed like the kinds of things she'd heard about growing up from the people in her parents' church. She remembered her father standing at the pulpit every Sunday, congratulating the newlyweds or the newly engaged people in his congregation.

Her parents had expected her to go to a community college close to home, but when she'd found out about Woodbury State's amazing creative writing department out in Los Angeles, she had talked with her parents, plead her case and explained how there were so many opportunities out there. Of course, they'd had none of it, at first, until Carol had received her acceptance letter from the university. When they'd seen how happy it made her, they finally gave in and agreed that it was her education and future, and she had to be the one to make that decision for herself.

For the first time in her life, she'd gotten on a plane and flown from northern Michigan to southern California, and it was the biggest eye-opening experience she'd ever had. She was terrified and excited, traveling all that way alone. Her mother had insisted on coming along, but Carol had pushed back on that, explaining that she was eighteen and had to learn how to take care of herself. It was her first step into true independence, and while she could see the heartbreak in her mother's eyes, it was decided that she would go alone but call frequently. Carol wasn't stubborn enough to not call for help, and she had had to call home and ask a few questions, but once she actually arrived on campus, things seemed to fall into place pretty quickly.

The first week of classes, she literally ran right into a walking wall of a man. Ed Peletier had been tall with a striking, chiseled face. He was a bit on the husky side, but he was strong and just about knocked her right on her ass. He'd apologized, helped her to her feet and looked at her in a way that made her blush. He told her he couldn't stay, because he was on his way to football practice, but he asked for her number, and that rush of excitement and anxiety was overpowering. They'd quickly exchanged numbers, and while she hadn't expected to hear back from him, it was the first time she'd ever felt that rush of butterflies in her stomach.

She hadn't dated in school. Her parents had practically forbidden it. It had taken almost a month of begging to go to prom when a sweet guy from her English class had asked her to prom. Her father had insisted on driving them to the venue and picking them up by eleven o'clock. It hadn't stopped them from sneaking out to the gondola by the duck pond and making out for almost an hour before some drunk classmates had spotted them. It had started out as her first kiss, then her first make-out session, and it had stirred up all kinds of feelings she wasn't sure what to do with, mainly in her lower belly and down between her legs. It had been exciting and new, and it was over before it could go too far.

She'd spent the next week walking on eggshells at home, terrified that every time her parents looked at her, they'd reveal they knew the sordid details of what really went down with her prom date.

Ed had been her first. It hadn't been romantic, looking back, but on the night of their third date, they'd gone all the way, and he'd promised her everything. She'd been naïve enough to believe him.

When the school year ended, she'd gone back home to Michigan, he'd stayed in Los Angeles, and he'd made exactly one trip to Michigan halfway through the summer to meet her parents. He was charming, and Carol had been so pleased that her parents got along with him so well. But, Ed had made a pretty convincing show of not even touching her while he was there aside from the night before he had to fly back, when he'd snuck across the hall and into her bed, promising her they'd be quick and quiet but that he had to be with her, because it'd been so long.

She'd waited until he was on the plane to cry over him. The idea of waiting another month to see him again felt unbearable.

The plan had been to move into a small apartment just off campus with her dormmate from the previous year. She and Michonne had hit it off and become great friends, and since they were no longer freshmen, they were able to get an apartment of their own, per the university's rules on housing. Naturally, the first thing she'd done after meeting Michonne to see the apartment had been to hurry off to Ed's place to surprise him.

Only, it was her that was in for the surprise. She'd used her key to get in, only to find him in bed with a new freshman who looked at him with the same doe-eyes Carol had after their first month of dating. Ed had scrambled out of bed and chased Carol down the hall, explaining that he'd met Felicity two months ago, and he'd fallen in love with her. She hadn't even made the connection at first that he'd met Felicity before his trip to Michigan, and that crushing blow hit her with full force three hours later when she was curled up sobbing on her bed while Michonne did anything and everything to try to calm her down.

And that low moment in her life was exactly what got Carol out of bed. She stood up slowly and ran her fingers through the mess of dark auburn curls, and she looked at Michonne.

"He's not worth it," Carol agreed. "But I'm not ready for another relationship, so if this is your way of trying to hook me up with somebody, I don't want any part of it." Michonne turned in her seat and looked at her.

"I'm not trying to do anything. You're my friend, and I love you, and I want you to be happy. But you have to find your happiness. Still, there's nothing wrong with meeting Rick's friend, is there? At the very least, you could end up with a new friend. Besides, he's flying back to Atlanta tomorrow. He runs a garage with his older brother. Think of it as a no-strings meeting. You meet, you talk, you laugh. Tomorrow, he's on a plane, and you can go back to studying for your tests and pretending that life doesn't exist outside of our apartment."

"You're an asshole," Carol snorted. Michonne batted her eyelashes and grinned.

"I know. Is it working?"

"It's working," Carol sighed. She made her way over to her closet and started looking through her clothes. She glanced over her shoulder at Michonne who was still seated at Carol's desk doing her makeup. "What are you wearing?"

"This." Michonne shrugged. She was wearing a pair of cut off jean shorts and a purple t-shirt. Her braided hair was tied back, and she made casual look flawless. Carol looked down at her donut-print pajama shorts and groaned. She hadn't gotten dressed up in ages, and the idea of doing it all to go out to a beach and stand in front of a scorching bonfire with Michonne, Rick and some guy she never met just didn't sound like it was worth the effort. Still, she found her favorite tank top and a pair of capri jeans, and she held them up.

"How about this?" she asked, holding it up. Michonne glanced at her in the mirror and gave her a nod.

"It's a good color on you." She glanced at the clock. "Better hurry. They're picking us up in fifteen."

...

Fifteen minutes, one quick shower and the fastest makeup application ever, and Carol was standing awkwardly in front of the apartment building with Michonne, sweating despite the fact that it was October and there was a chill in the air.

"I thought you said fifteen minutes."

"It's L.A. They probably got stuck in traffic." Michonne had so much faith in Rick. They'd started dating shortly after Carol and Ed had, and they were still going strong. Rick was a good guy, and Carol enjoyed hanging out with him and with Michonne, but she often ended up by herself on purpose, because she hated playing the third wheel once Ed was out of the picture.

Rick was from Georgia and had traveled about as far as Carol had to come to Los Angeles for school. He was studying criminal justice, because his parents wanted him to have a college education. His dream, however, was to be a police officer, and just as soon as he was out of school, he planned on becoming just that. Carol had never met somebody so sure of what they wanted to do with their lives. Hell, up until college started, she'd wanted to write children's books. Now that her college courses had opened up resources and tools for her, she'd started writing short stories and submitting them to journals at every possible juncture. She had decided on studying writing, both creative and business writing so, at the very least, if she couldn't get published, she would still be able to make a career out of her skills.

Michonne was also on the criminal justice track, though her focus was more on the social work side of it all. She was adamant that she wanted to make a difference.

Carol always felt a little out of place when Michonne and Rick would talk about their future. They knew so clearly what they wanted to do with their lives, and Carol was just discovering the things she wanted to do and to be. She supposed growing up sheltered and spending most of her weekends sitting in her father's church had something to do with that. The world was a big, open place with a multitude of possibilities, and the endless paths she had at her feet were staggering.

"So about this friend of Rick's?" Carol began, scuffing the toe of her shoe against the sidewalk.

"Daryl? What about him?"

"You said he's going back to Georgia?"

"Yeah. I don't know a lot about him, except for what Rick told me. See, they were good friends in high school. Daryl and his older brother were raised by their uncle. He ran a garage somewhere outside of Atlanta. When he died, he passed it onto Daryl and his brother Merle."

"So he's our age?"

"Yeah, just about," Michonne said with a little nod. "He's taking classes down in Atlanta, and he's helping run the garage. He's just been up visiting for a few days. Rick says he's kind of quiet. A little shy, but super nice."

"Yeah," Carol snorted snidely. "Aren't they all at first?"

"Not every guy you meet's another Ed. Trust me. Rick's a good one. And he says Daryl's a good guy, so I'm inclined to believe him." Carol just gave a little shrug, and Michonne sighed dramatically. "One of these days you'll know I'm right." The flash of headlights coming around the corner caught her eye. "They're here. Now remember, this isn't a date. This is just you getting out of the house, enjoying yourself and maybe making a new friend. Is that too much to ask?"

"Way too much," Carol grinned. Michonne nudged her shoulder. "I have to admit, I do feel a little better already."

"See? This is gonna be fun."