WOW! The response I got from my last chapter was amazing! You guys are to literally the best! Thank you to all of my new reviewers. Always love feedback. I have a feeling this will be a good chapter...but I literally typed it in the dark backstage area between scenes of our musical. We open up this weekend, and instead of rehearsing like a good child, I have been writing fanfiction, so you better like this one.

I'm off to go put on a musical. Please pray that I do not lose my voice or forget my lines.

Enjoy!

Nicole POV

"Regrets collect like old friends, here to relive your darkest moments. I can see no way. I can see no way." Shake It Out, Florence and the Machine

I held my position for a moment, my aim unwavering as my eyes zeroed in on my was small, but at this point I would take whatever I could find. He was so intently focused on the nut that he was eating the he didn't even notice my arrow being aimed at him. In a brief moment, I let my arrow fly, releasing it from the string. Before the helpless creature could react it had already nailed him in the eye, killing him swiftly and cleanly. I crept forwards, gently using four fingers to remove the arrow from the squirrel. I wiped off the tip and then put it back in it's holster, ready to use for another day.

I placed the squirrel in my pathetically empty game bag. We were having pretty bad luck in the food department now. Actually, we hadn't been doing well for about 2 months now. It was probably about mid-February by my estimations, and it was pretty cold. Hunting was rare, and even when we could catch something, it wouldn't be enough. There were 11 of us, and one squirrel was not enough to satiate us all.

It had been about 5 and a half months since we left the farm, and nothing had been going our way since. Every day we traveled and stopped at different houses, raiding pantries and cupboards, taking clothes and whatever else we could find. Then, we would stay the night, but we could never stay in any one place for too long until the walkers came. That was why we had to keep moving. They never stopped following.

As quickly as I could, I limped back to the group, pulling my coat more tightly around my shivering body. My burn had healed up for the most part, but there was still a nasty scar running up my calf, and I still couldn't walk properly. Those first few days after it had happened had been the worst. We had just started moving around, and I wasn't able to help with anything. All I could do was sit in the back of a car. We had gone down from three cars to two, to save gas. Daryl still had his bike, which he rode in the front of the caravan. Rick, Lori, Carl, and Carol all rode in their SUV, while T, Maggie, Glenn, Hershel, and Beth rode in the truck. I switched around, depending on who wanted to have me that day. It was boring few months.

"Get anything?" Daryl said gruffly when I got back to the cars. He had gone out earlier, with no luck whatsoever. I shrugged, opening the bag.

"A squirrel. Not much, but something." I said weakly, tossing the bag towards him. He caught it with one hand, looking into the bag.

"More than I got." He offered, closing the bag. "Let's get inside. It'll be dark soon." I nodded, adjusting the strap of my gun. Silently, we walked towards the house where we were staying for the night.

These past few months had been…...interesting. I wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed like there was something going on with Daryl. Ever since I had lit the barn on fire….. I don't know. He always stared at me, and when I looked at him he would look away. Every time we were left alone he would awkwardly leave to go do something else. I couldn't understand why he was acting like this. Something was off.

I had been so absorbed in my own thought that I had not realized that Daryl had been speaking this entire time.

"-Lori can have most of the meat. She needs it." He finished, looking at me. "And you can have most of the rest of it."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Me?" I asked. "Daryl, I'm like, the smallest one. If anything, I need less food than the rest of you."

"But you're injured." Daryl said knowingly, looking down at my leg.

"I'm fine Daryl." I grumbled, moving my leg so I was standing in a more comfortable position. The weight change caused me to grunt, and it came out too fast for me to stifle it.

"Sure. Fine." He rolled his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that. The rest of us will be over here making sure you don't do anything stupid.'

I bit my tongue lightly. "What does that mean?" I hissed, looking up at his face.

"Nothing." He mumbled, looking away.

"Daryl.." I said, my tone low and warning. This is what I was talking about. He was being awkward, judgey, moody. He acted like he hated me, and now I was going to learn why.

"It means that I can see through it." He told me calmly, lowering his gaze to meet mine. His dark eyes were soft, but hardened in the middle, like his focus wasn't entirely on me.

"See through what?" I spat. I couldn't see it, but I bet my gaze was stone cold.

"Your act Nicole. I can see through it." His voice stayed steady through the entire thing, though I could tell it was. A battle for him. "Every day you carry on. You carry on like you're not in pain, like your leg isn't killing you. You carry on like you didn't almost get burned alive. You carry on like you didn't have to witness your best friend killing your brother, like you didn't have to kill the creature he became. I don't understand you Nicole! God! Do you feel anything at all? Every time I want to ask you about it I lose the nerve, because I didn't want to ruin our relationship, but this had gone too far. This isn't healthy Cole! People need to feel things. It's who we are."

That was it. He finally snapped. All the confusion and anger and awkwardness that had been bubbling up over the past few months finally boiled over, and left us with this mess to clean up. I could feel tears stinging in the corners of my eyes, and I fought with all of my might to keep them at bay. I swallowed the lump in my throat, bringing my gaze once more to him. His eyes were now completely hardened with anger. I winced a little under his harsh glare, unprepared for it's sting.

'Is that what you think?" I said quietly, my voice barely a whisper. I wanted to speak up, but I couldn't seem to make my voice go any louder. "Do you think that I don't feel anything? That I don't care?" I shook my head. "Well you're wrong. Don't you think I know that I watched my brother die? Twice? Don't you think I miss him every single day? Yes, SHane was an ass, but he was my brother. Do you not think I feel that?"

"Cole I-" He started to speak but I cut him off.

"No Daryl. No. You think I don't feel? Well I do. I miss him Daryl. I miss my big brother more than words can say. I miss my friends, I miss my school. I miss my job. I miss my life! Do you know why I don't show my emotion Daryl? It's because everyone else in our goddamn group is so volatile. WE need someone that we know isn't going to emotionally spaz out one of these days. I keep my emotions in check so the others won't freak out. Don't you think I want cry every time I have to run on my leg? Don't you think I have a miniature panic attack every time someone mentions Shane's name? Of course I do Daryl!" I was crying now, not bothering to hide my emotion anymore. I was past the point of mad. I was raging now. How dare he! How dare he make so many assumptions about me! "I just-I can't- I have to…." I was at the point of hyperventilating. "Do you think I like this? Do you think I want to feel this way?"

"You know what?" He cut. "I think you do like. You must like it!"

"What?" I screamed.

"You heard me. I think you like doing hints like this- lighting buildings on fire, sacrificing yourself to the walkers. You have to enjoy it! Why else would you do things like that?" He screamed back, his deep voice booming, causing me to cower slightly. I hadn't expected him retaliate like that. He seemed worked up by all of this, way more worked up when than he should be. "Why do you do things like that? Why do you do things that could kill you?'

"Because I have nothing left to live for!"

Silence. That was my response. I had thrown my gaze to the ground in my last fit of anger, and now I was afraid to look up. I could hear his ragged breathing as tears slipped down my nose, hesitating on the tip before landing on the ground softly.

The silence was unbearable, but I still could not bring myself to break it. Something about what I had said. It had cut him, in a way that I could not comprehend. I could see his feet shifting slightly across from mine, crushing the grass slightly. My hands were shaking slightly and I could feel my breath getting quicker.

"Is that what you think?" HIs voice was a complete change from what it was earlier. No longer was it sharp and cutting. No, noe, it was something that was almost worse. His voice was full of pain, like something was hurting him while he spoke. "That you have nothing left to live for?"

I just shook my head, keeping my gaze locked on the ground. "I have no one left Daryl." I said quietly. "My family is gone."

"No. No Nicole. You are not allowed to think like that. Even if your family is gone, there are still so many people who need you. Rick. He loves you with all he has. You're his best friend. And Lori, with that baby she is going to need you as much as she can get you. And Carl, you're like his big sister. What would it do to him if you died? And Carol, and T, and Maggie, and Glenn. They all need you. You are a part of this group now Nicole, and don't you forget it. We need you." He said gently, and I felt his hand rest on my shoulder. Then, bringing his voice even lower, he added the last part so quietly that I thought i had imagined it.

"I need you Nicole."

I froze, a shiver shooting up my entire body, freezing me in place. What had he just said? The shaking in my hands increased as I looked up, my eyes wide. I was met by his gaze, every trace of anger and annoyance gone, replaced only by gentleness and warmth.

"Daryl-"

He put his hands on my cheek. I shuddered slightly at the warmth they gave me.

"Shh." He cut me off softly. "Nicole you can't think like that 're not the only that lost everything. I had already lost the rest of my family before all of it went to shit. And now my brother's gone and- you just can't go off doing things like that anymore. You may not have a reason to live, but I have my own reasons for wanting you to live. Call me selfish or whatever, but it's true. I-I need you to be alive, for me."

And then he kissed me.

Huh? Huh? What did I tell you? WHAT DID I TELL YOU?