God! I fucking love you all! You guys are so awesome! So in reward of all of the reviews I received, here is chapter 5!
Beth flung herself at Michonne, fists swinging. She backed the woman against the brick wall, slamming her head into it several times. Michonne was strong enough to hold Beth at arm's length, but Beth was bendy and lanky enough to use the rest of her body to ram into her. Michonne flipped her around and pushed her against the wall instead, the back of her skull meeting the rough building and making her eyes roll back in pain.
This wasn't working, she was losing. She was getting her ass kicked. And so she did exactly what she had deemed not to do; she kicked Michonne in the crotch bone.
The woman groaned and hunched forward, giving Beth the opportunity to switch their positions. She didn't know where this violent urge in her had come from, but she forced Michonne into the wall, hard. She kept going, not stopping when she realized that Michonne wasn't fighting back as much.
"Beth, stop," Daryl's voice broke her from her chain of abuse. "It's over."
Beth took a deep and shaky breath and backed up, arms still posed in defense.
Michonne's eyes were squinted closed and all of the men were silent. Beth couldn't believe what she had done. She didn't know she had it in her. Not only to fight a woman, but to fight a total stranger.
Beth retreated to the opposite wall, leaning against it for support. She felt sick.
"Where the fuck did ya learn ta fight like that, Priss?" Merle finally spoke in a gravelly voice.
Beth tried to shrug but her entire body was sore, so she just gently shook her head, not knowing the answer herself. Sure she had taken classes, but she had just won against a woman who had probably twice the amount of muscle as her, if not more, and quadruple the experience. She didn't understand it any better than the rest of them.
Beth let her head fall back and then lolled it to the side, searching for those deep blue eyes. She found them, just like she expected.
Daryl mouthed to her, asking her if she was okay. Beth nodded in a barely perceptible way and began to feel incredibly sick to her stomach, her head felt like she had been on a roller coaster for an hour.
"Are we done here?" Beth wheezed out, feeling the immediate need to throw up but swallowing thickly to hold it back. She slowly readjusted her ponytail.
Merle just stared at her in what could have been interpreted as awe, or perhaps just plain old shock. Beth looked around into the eyes of the rugged men that surrounded her, not knowing what step was next. Michonne was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.
Merle spoke up. "Maybe you an' I should talk." He smirked wickedly.
"About what?" Beth sputtered stupidly.
Merle managed to grin. "'Bout ya joinin' the ranks as one o' us. I ain't never seen someone who looks like ya, fight like that. I'm pretty sure not many oth'a people have either. Although ya wouldn't be able ta git 'way with kickin' someone in the crotch ag'in, that was a low blow, Priss," he grimaced.
Beth scoffed. "I probably looked ridiculous and entirely out of place."
"You were good, Beth," Daryl's quiet voice spoke volumes in the empty alley.
Beth snapped her head over to look at him, groaning when it made the world spin around her. She brought her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose and took deep breaths. "I don't think I would ever want this," she whispered through the pain.
"You get used to the pain," the other man who had yet to speak chimed in. Beth looked him over. He had tanned skin, light eyes and dark hair that hung over his face. Even in the dim light Beth could see obvious scars on his chin and cheeks.
The air was as heavy as the situation and Beth felt the immediate need to lighten it up. "I don't want to mess up my pretty face, though," she joked a little.
"Hate ta break it ta ya Priss, but it's kind o' fucked up righ' now," Merle replied.
Beth scowled. "Thanks to you, asshole."
Everyone went silent. Beth surprised herself; she never cursed.
"People don' jus' talk ta me like that, ya know," Merle shook his head and glared hard.
"Yeah well, I don't know. And please, don't try to make me pay for it because I think I just proved that I can put up a decent fight," Beth was beginning to feel increasingly annoyed as the pain in her head multiplied. All of her instincts for self-preservation began to flee to make way for the throbbing.
Before anyone could retort, a police officer decided to intervene. "HEY!" A flashlight shined down the alley. "What's going on down there?"
"Shit," Knox whispered and then looked to Merle who nodded.
"Priss, think abou' what I proposed. If ya don' want this, ya might want ta watch yer back," Merle said in a warning voice and Beth fought herself to keep from rolling her eyes. It's not that she thought the man was joking, her head just felt like it might explode; a ticking time bomb that wouldn't allow the present any threats.
Beth gave an acknowledging shrug as Merle and his posse began to walk away. Beth slowly began to do the same when she noticed that Daryl hadn't left.
"Why aren't you going with them?" Beth asked in a hoarse voice and flinched when the police officer shouted again.
"We have ta get away from here." Daryl lightly grabbed her arm and pulled her along until they were at a safe distance.
When they stopped Beth twisted out of his grasp. "I think I should get away from you. Seriously, I've been around you twice and each time I've gotten into some sort of serious predicament. If this is any indication of what being around you will inevitably be like, I think I'll pass."
"It ain't my fuckin' fault that ya stumble across me! It ain't like I seek ya out."
"I don't seek you out either! Shit luck, is what it is," Beth spat. God, her language!
"I don' remember ya bein' this much of an ass." He growled lowly.
"That's because you were taking up all of the asshole floor before," Beth replied and grabbed her head again.
"Fuck, are ya okay?" Daryl spoke softly this time.
"I don't know," Beth laughed bitterly and looked over to Daryl, her breath hitching a little when she saw the obvious look of concern in Daryl's eyes. "I'm sorry," she breathed.
Daryl smirked lightly. "I can handle it. 'M sorry fer gettin' ya in situations where ya can get yer ass kicked. Though ya managed ta take care o' yerself pretty well this time."
Beth rolled her eyes and a corner of her mouth turned up. She was about to speak when her phone started buzzing. "Ah, damn," she said in panic, realizing that she hadn't checked in with her friends.
Sure enough, the culprit was Carl. She gave Daryl a 'one second' motion with her hand and held her phone up to her ear.
She made her voice sound as casual as possible. "Carl, hey."
"Beth? Where the hell are you?"
"I'm..." Beth scrambled her brain for a lie. She could say she went home but what if Maggie was about to head there and would catch her in her lie?
"Maggie left to go back to that redhead's place and Lizzie and I want to go. Are you okay?" Carl interrupted her thoughts.
Beth had never been so grateful for Maggie and her tendency for random hookups. "Maggie went with the ginger? I am delighted by the triumph over her prejudice," Beth laughed.
"Yeah well, she kept buying him shots and pushing her tits in his face so," Carl chuckled, "are you still here?"
"Uh, no," Beth glanced to Daryl. "I headed home, I was tired and loopy so I caught a cab. Thanks for checking up though, I'll talk to you later?"
"Yeah, sure. Come chill with me and Larry sometime!" Carl happily supplied.
Beth pointedly did not respond to the notion of "chilling" with Larry the lizard. "Bye Carl," she said jovially and hung up the phone, letting a deep breath go.
"Ya prob'ly shouldn't lie ta yer friends 'bout where ya are. It could be dangerous," Daryl said in a serious voice.
"I'm kind of hoping that the universe has already bestowed upon me my night's- hell, week's worth of danger," Beth replied. "I'm gonna head home and sleep. My head is killing me."
"Ya shouldn't sleep. Ya might have a concussion," Daryl's said as his brow furrowed.
Beth tried her best not to whine. "Dammit. It hurts and I just want to curl up in bed." Clearly she failed at her attempt.
"Ya need ice, painkillers an' water," Daryl nodded.
"I have all of that at home," Beth yawned and started to slowly wander off.
"Yer gonna go home an' pass the fuck out, ain't ya?" Daryl rolled his eyes.
Beth walked backwards and raised an eyebrow. "Yep."
"Seriously, ya need ta stay up fer a while. Is there someone that can watch ya?" Daryl insisted.
Beth pursed her lips, eyebrow still raised. "My sister is one-night standing it and anyone else I could call would demand an explanation of why I look like I just got in a street fight."
Daryl sighed and looked around them. "I really can't let ya go by yerself, Beth."
"Why not? I'm a grown up! Everyone seems to keep forgetting that. I can handle myself," Beth turned and strode away.
Daryl walked quickly to catch up with her. "Look, jus' let me make sure ya git home okay."
Beth looked into the dark eyes of the man beside her. "Why do you care?" She murmured.
"Why did ya care after my fight tonight? Ya didn't have ta come after me," Daryl challenged.
Beth honestly didn't have an answer. At least not one that she had properly thought through yet. "I don't know."
Daryl looked down and smiled a little. "Well, since we seem ta be on the same page of confusion, let's jus' stay there fer a little bit. Jus' until I make sure ya gonna be okay."
"Whatever," Beth huffed, slightly amused by the fact that she and Daryl seemed to have reversed roles, but mostly just annoyed by the combination of Daryl's chatter and her own pounding head.
Daryl somehow managed to get Beth into a cab and to her apartment, even though she fought him the entire way. Beth didn't even know why she was being so difficult for Daryl. Out of principle perhaps, it was his crowd that had wanted Beth's ass handed to him not long before. But mainly she was just being a whiny jerk because her head hurt so badly.
"Ah, damn," Beth groaned as she stumbled up the steps.
"Whoa," Daryl steadied her and Beth flushed.
"Thanks," she mumbled as she sloppily got her key in the door. "You don't have to come in," she looked over her shoulder, "I should be fine now."
Daryl looked at her worriedly for a second. "Look, this can be really fuckin' awkward an' forced or ya can jus' let me help ya git settled. For yer sake an' fer my own peace o' mind, jus'-please?"
Beth was taken aback. She knew that Daryl had this side somewhere in him; he had saved her from his asshole father. But she was legitimately surprised that Daryl was being so forthcoming with it now. Especially after the trouble that Beth had stirred up with his people earlier.
"Yeah, okay," Beth agreed and pushed open the door and they filed in. "What about you? How are your ribs?"
"Nothin' I can't deal wit'," Daryl shrugged lightly and fought a grimace.
Beth furrowed her eyebrows, twirling her hair with a finger. "I think you need the painkillers as badly as I do," she laughed a little.
"I'm used ta it," Daryl replied, not joining the laughter.
Beth shook her head and immediately regretted it. "Hey, I wanna take a shower. It'll help wake me up and I wanna wash all of...this," Beth motioned over herself with her hands, "off of me."
Daryl licked his lips and leaned against the back of the couch, looking around. "Ya won' slip an' fall?"
"Don't tell me you want to keep an eye on me in the shower?" Beth teased and Daryl's body went rigid. "Relax, I was kidding. I'll be fine. Make yourself comfortable. If you want water or food or something, go for it." Beth reached down to unzip her boots, falling forward a little and having to catch her balance with her hand on the back of the couch next to Daryl.
They were so close to each other and the tension that seemed to be ever-present was just as palpable as always. Beth slowly looked up and over, Daryl was looking right back at her.
"I think I have questions for you when I get back," Beth whispered, biting her bottom lip in a pondering way.
Daryl glanced away. "I don' really like ta answer questions."
"Yeah but you know I'm persistent. I'm bound to try," Beth cocked her head to the side slightly and Daryl just gave her an amused look of incredulity. They both stared again and Beth noticed that there were flecks of green in Daryl's eyes. Light in the darkness.
"Go shower. I'll be here," Daryl cleared his throat, breaking their moment.
Beth had a quick intake of breath, snapping herself back to reality, and then walked awkwardly to the bathroom.
It wasn't until Beth was out of the shower and observing her bruises in the fogged mirror that she realized that it was probably really stupid to leave someone she hardly knew, a criminal no less, alone in her apartment. It was really stupid to be with him alone in her apartment, too. But again, Beth got the distinctive feeling that Daryl wasn't a threat. At least not to her.
Beth slipped into her adjoining bedroom and got dressed in some comfortable clothing. She rarely wore clothes like that around anyone but her close friends, but Daryl had seen a side of her that no one else had seen so Beth figured it wasn't a big deal to look like a bum in front of him.
When she left the known comfort of her room to venture out into who knows what, she took a deep breath. She really felt much better, more awake, her head still hurt but it wasn't spinning. If she was being honest- she actually felt great, powerful, and really fucking alive. Like the fight had reminded her of her vitality. Not that she had enjoyed it or anything... She shook her head and walked down the hallway, finding Daryl sitting on the couch, his phone in hand. In front of him was a glass of water, two pills, and a bag of ice.
"Hey," Beth said in an uncool way.
Daryl turned at her voice and put his phone away in his pocket. "Hey. I uh, got these things fer ya. I hope ya don' mind."
Beth only took a second to decide if she was going to go with this awkward vibe or ignore it entirely. "No, I really appreciate it. Thanks for making sure I didn't end up asleep on the street somewhere. I was nearing that point, to be honest," Beth smiled and grabbed the cures from the table.
"I know the feelin'," Daryl smirked and his body visibly relaxed.
"How long do I have to stay awake?" Beth asked after she swallowed her pills and curled her legs under her on the other side of the couch.
"There ain't a set time," Daryl leaned his elbows on his knees and gave an apologetic look. "Jus' long 'nough ta make sure yer not goin' ta fall asleep an' never wake up."
"Lovely," Beth said dryly. "You really don't have to babysit though. I'll just stay up and work on homework or something."
"What are ya studyin'?" Beth blinked at Daryl's question, surprised he asked something entirely unrelated.
"Psychology," Beth nodded. "I'm a graduate student."
Daryl stiffened a little. "That's really cool."
Beth chuckled. "Relax, I'm not gonna get inside your head." Beth smiled a little as she thought to herself about the many times in her short acquaintance of Daryl that she really had been digging around in there.
"I don' think that would be pleasant fer either o' us," Daryl offered quietly.
Beth tilted her head so she could put the bag of ice between it and the couch, it was already starting to feel even better. "What are you doing in the city? I mean, what happened with your..." Beth trailed off.
"Dad?" Daryl raised an eyebrow. "I don' know an' I really don' care. 'M away from him now. All that matters," Daryl's reply was gruff.
"You live here now?" Beth asked.
"Yeah, I got a place o' my own. I needed ta be closer ta the action anyway."
"Speaking of action, what the hell are you mixed up in?" Beth said bluntly.
"I think it should be pretty obvious by now," Daryl scoffed. "Or did ya not realize it when ya were on the ground fightin' Michonne?"
"Who is that asshole, Merle anyway?" Beth asked sleepily through a yawn.
Daryl shook his head. "Ya seriously need ta be careful 'bout how ya talk 'bout him. He was cool with ya t'night 'cause ya almost kicked Michonne's ass. But ya don' want him 'gainst ya."
"How did he end up in your life?" Beth blinked.
Daryl narrowed his eyes. "I thought I mentioned that I don' like questions."
"I thought I replied that I don't care," Beth smirked.
Daryl chuckled and leaned back into the couch, turning his body to face Beth a little more. "Where the fuck did you come from?"
Beth raised an eyebrow. "That's what I'm trying to ask you," she replied cheekily.
"Honestly, las' time I saw ya, ya couldn't even verse my ol' man. An' t'night, ya...fuck," Daryl breathed.
Beth's belly swirled at how Daryl cursed. "It wasn't that cool. I was just defending myself. I've been taking classes since that night," Beth cleared her throat, "I hated feeling helpless."
Daryl looked at her carefully. "'M still sorry 'bout that."
"Not your fault," Beth shrugged, running her bruised fingers through her wet hair.
"How's yer head?" Daryl asked.
"I really think it's okay. What about your ribs?"
"They fuckin' hurt," Daryl admitted and Beth couldn't help the incredulous laughter that burst out of her.
"You were trying to act all tough and refuse the pills. Take some," Beth urged with a smile.
Daryl's jaw tightened. "I don' need them."
"Seriously? You hurt, take them."
"This may be hard fer ya ta understand since ya jus' pranced in an' got into a fight, but this is my life. I have ta get used ta the pain. If I let m'self feel it then I'll remember ta block myself better next time," Daryl said under his breath.
Beth's eyes widened. "Are you a masochist? Why would you want that?"
Daryl looked over at her with that familiar flash of anger in his eyes. "You don' fuckin' know me. Don' pretend that ya do."
"I can assume more than you'd think, Daryl. And I don't know why the hell you're mixed up in this shit," Beth shot back.
"This is how I git by, Beth! It's my job. I ain't like ya, I don' get ta go ta school durin' the week an' go ta the club on a Saturday night. Instead I'm fightin' fer my life behind the club, gettin' the shit beat out o' me so I can pay my bills," Daryl spat and moved to the edge of the couch. Beth noticed his southern twang came out more the angrier he became.
"Why don't you just get a regular job?" Beth found herself replying because she couldn't seem to shut up.
"Ya, 'cause it's so fuckin' easy fer someone in my situation ta git hired anywhere. Ya don' git it. Besides, I make more doin' what I do in one night than I would at a mediocre job in a month."
"So you beat people up for money and you're okay with it. I seriously don't see what the appeal is! Maybe you wouldn't make that much at a real job but at least you'd have some dignity." Beth had no right to judge Daryl, she knew that. But she couldn't stop himself. Daryl brought out the argumentative side in her.
"Fuck this," Daryl stood up. "Yer deep in denial if ya really mean what ya jus' said. I saw that look in yer eyes tonight while ya were fightin'. Ya liked it."
"That's preposterous. It's a reckless and juvenile activity," Beth closed her eyes in frustration.
"I know that look 'cause it's the same one I git. The same one Merle, Michonne, an' all o' the guys git. Stop tryin' ta say ya don' see the appeal, ya felt powerful an' alive," Daryl urged but his voice was a bit quieter.
"I hated it," Beth retorted but she knew she was lying through her teeth. She hadn't hated it. Instead she sort of hated herself for not hating it.
"B'careful. Merle has an' eye out fer ya, an' he can be very persuasive. It's easier ta git sucked into it than ya think, Beth. Now if ya don' mind, I have better things ta do than spend my night bein' judged by a fuckin' stranger," Daryl said roughly.
Beth snapped her eyes open. She was still hot under the collar but she felt like an assjacket for behaving like that. Daryl was just trying to help her. "I'm sorry I snapped...it's just been as weird night, you know?" Beth said softly.
Daryl nodded. "Ya, I know. Try ta stay awake," he replied as he walked toward the door.
"Thanks for looking out for me," Beth turned her head toward him.
"I can't promise I'll be there next time," Daryl said seriously and looked Beth straight in the eyes.
"You think there's gonna be a next time?" Beth raised an eyebrow.
"Jus' watch yer back," Daryl licked at his lips, leaving the sentence hanging for a moment. "Things don' always work out like they did tonight."
Beth just stared as Daryl left her apartment, leaving her alone with her own startling thoughts. Merle wanted her to join up and apparently wasn't going to back down without a literal or figurative fight. But that was hardly as alarming to her as the reaction that Daryl had evoked in her; a mixture of anger, confusion, and maybe displaced passion. Beth hadn't quite put her finger on it.
However, the most shocking notion of all was the fact that Daryl was right. Beth felt invigorated and excited. She had enjoyed the fight. She had relished coming out on top.
As Beth pushed the bag of melting ice against her already numb temple, she pondered that maybe she wasn't exactly who she thought she was.