Beth opened her eyes slowly, her vision adjusting to the light that had seeped in while she had been sleeping. She rolled over, yawning, stretching out on the hay beneath her, realising she was alone. Propping herself up on to her elbow, she looked up to see Daryl over by his motorbike, his back to her.
'Morning,' she said softly.
Daryl turned around, wiping his hands down the front of his shirt.
'Mornin' sunshine.' He said, chucking her his half smile.
Beth smiled at him leisurely from her position on the hay, her hair lose and falling down around her shoulders.
'Rain's stopped,' he said, glancing up at the ceiling of the barn, 'we should ge' goin'.'
Beth nodded, pushing herself up into a sitting position and stretching her arms out in front of her, circling her head on her neck, working out the knots and kinks that had built up in the muscles from spending the night on the floor.
Her clothes were dry by now, albeit stiff, so she pulled them on over her cold body with some effort, not enjoying the way the frigid fabric rubbed against her skin. She removed the home-made poncho to get dressed, pulling on her slightly damp coat.
Daryl wandered over to her, his eyes sweeping the barn, ensuring he had not forgotten anything. Beth held out the poncho to him, a smile playing over her lips.
'Here,' she said, 'you put this on.'
'Nah,' he smiled at her.
'I'm warm enough, you wear it!' She insisted.
Daryl looked at her, then sighed, taking the fabric from her. He slipped in on over his head, letting it fall down over his chest. Then he looked up at her with expectant eyes.
'Gorgeous,' Beth said, 'it suits you.'
Daryl shook his head, but his smile said enough.
'C'mon, wanna see if we can find anythin' t'hunt b'fore we head back.' He said, walking away from her and back over to the barn doors. Beth followed him.
Daryl glanced back over his shoulder to her, motioning to be quiet. Beth nodded. Daryl headed to the door and cracked it open, peering out into the daylight beyond through the gap.
Slowly, he opened the barn doors wider, letting the light spill into the barn. He stepped out, Beth following him, feeling the crisp air on her face. All around them was clear, no walkers apparent. Daryl motioned to her to stay behind him.
Together, they stepped out into the open. They walked along for a while, Beth staying close to Daryl, keeping her eyes on the tree line the whole time. They walked for a while, leaving the barn behind them, but not too far back as the bike had been left there.
There were no signs of wildlife out in the open like this, and only the occasional walker, which Daryl took care of with ease. As they wandered, Beth spotted an old building in the distance to their left, away from the forest.
'Daryl,' she whispered after a little while, the building having caught her interest, 'what's that?'
Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder and stood up straight to look to where she pointed.
'Looks like an ol' movie theatre' he said.
'Can we go see?' Beth asked.
Daryl turned to look at her, frowning slightly, his serious demeanour slightly diminished by the poncho.
'Why?' he asked.
Beth shrugged.
'Been a long time since I've seen anything from before.'
Daryl nodded; he guess he could understand that.
Together they changed their route and headed in the direction of the building, Daryl keeping an eye out either side of them for any approaching walkers. The building grew taller as they approached it and Beth saw the white signs that jutted out from above the doorways, signs that had once announced the names of the movies playing within, but now there were only a few, scattered letters left. The building itself was peeling and weeds had sprung up all around the walls.
As they drew closer, Beth noticed the front doors and window to the ticket booth were boarded up with large MDF planks. They walked towards the building, Daryl carefully stepping through the overgrown weeds, his crossbow at the ready. Beth ran a finger down one of the boarded doors, noticing the graffiti that covered the now rotting wood.
'Looks like this place closed before the fall,' she said, tracing the lining of a long lost graffiti tag.
One of the boards had begun to come away; on closer inspection, it looked as if it had been pried away. Beth approached it, gently tugging at the wood. Behind it was a gap large enough for her to fit through.
'Wha're ya doing?' Daryl hissed from behind her.
'I just want to see the inside,' she said.
'Why?' he asked, staring at her.
'I just do!' Beth said, 'It's been boarded up for years, it'll be safe!'
'Fine.' Daryl grunted, 'bu' le'me go first.'
He pushed past Beth, fitting his hand behind the wooden panel and tugging it forward. It creaked and groaned with protest as it was torn forward, but with some effort, Daryl managed to fit through the space. Beth followed closely behind.
They emerged into a deserted theatre lobby, a thick blanket of dust covered every surface as far as they could see – which was not very far, as little to no light broke through. A deathly, oppressing silence bore down on them, a silence which felt as though it had not been broken for some time.
Beth trod her way across the carpet, over to a counter which lined the wall to the right of the entrance, the glass cabinets smeared with dust and grime, hiding any of what may be sat upon the shelves behind. Beth trailed a finger along the counter top, lifting it to see the inch thick dust that collected on her finger tip. She rubbed it between her thumb, watching as it crumbled and floated back down to the counter, settling back against the rest of the dust as though it had never been disturbed.
She headed for the long corridor that was opposite the entrance, seeing the large numbers that sat beside each door – six, she counted.
'Beth,' Daryl's voice broke through the silence.
She turned to look at him, gesturing with her head for him to follow. He didn't seem impressed, but he followed her nonetheless.
Beth entered the first room, stepping into an almost pitch black, inky darkness. She stood for a while, blinking, until her eyes adjusted to the dark. They were in an auditorium, lined with seats that rose up and up in rows, all facing the large screen. Beth was overcome by the deep uncanniness of the place, each empty seat sat silently facing a screen that would never show anything other than the blank abyss it presented right now.
A shiver ran down her spine.
Daryl passed her, stepping his way over to the steps that ran down the middle of the rows of seats, making his way slowly up them, stopping now and then to peer down the row, his crossbow raised. Beth watched him as he walked, standing down in front of the screen, her hands nervously fiddling with the hem of her sweater.
Daryl reached the top and stopped, turning to look at her. He nodded.
Beth followed him, heading up the stairs one at a time, careful not to trip in the dark. Her feet made almost no sound for the floor was coated in a dust that silenced her footsteps. She reached the top as Daryl sat down in one of the old chairs, reclining, placing his crossbow down on the seat beside him.
Gingerly, Beth sat in the empty seat next to him. Together, they stared down at the blank screen in silence.
After a while, Beth leant her head on Daryl's shoulder, feeling the need for some contact and comfort.
'My first date with Jimmy was to a cinema,' she said softly, her voice sounding weird in the empty room, reverberating off of the walls, echoing back at them through the dust. 'There was this big place in town, much bigger than this... I can't even remember what it was we saw.'
Daryl kept his eyes ahead. Beth knew he was listening, but he didn't reply.
'Did you go on many cinema dates before all this?' she asked.
Beth felt his body move as he huffed out an imitation of a laugh.
'Nah,' he said.
'Didn't you like movies?' she asked, turning her head to look up at him. She could see his jawline, the muscles twitch as he spoke.
'I liked 'em,' he shrugged slightly under Beth's head, 'jus' never dated.'
'Never?' Beth asked, sitting up.
'Ain't my scene,' he shrugged.
'But you had relationships, right?' she asked.
Daryl stroked his beard.
'Nah,' he shook his head.
'You didn't have a girlfriend before all of this?' she frowned.
'No,' Daryl shook his had slowly, 'ain't never needed one.'
He turned to look at Beth's face, taking in her slight confusion in the darkness.
'I told ya, I drifted wi' Merle. We didn't settle a great deal, never saw no need for … anythin', really. I been wi' women, jus' never called one mine.'
Beth tilted her head to look at him, seeing the way his jaw clenched.
'I'll be your woman, Daryl Dixon,' Beth said softly, her voice quiet and low in the dark room.
Daryl turned to look at her, his eyes narrowed behind his hair.
'Y'asking me out?' he said sarcastically.
'Yeah,' Beth said, 'yeah, I am.'
'Don' y'think I'm a little old t'be yer boyfriend,' he said, amusement evident in his voice, 'y'want some college fling, someone t'go see movies wi' and sing abou', ya wanna ask Zach.'
Beth thought she felt some resentment in his voice, but he had turned his face back to the empty screen, so she could not be certain, unable to read his darkened profile.
'No,' she said, putting her hand on his arm that rested on the arm of the chair between them, 'I want you.'
Daryl glanced down at her.
'Just you.' she said simply.
'Hm.' Daryl sucked his lower lip into his mouth, running his teeth along the skin beneath the lip.
Beth reached up to touch his face, gently moving his head around to look at her. He looked into her eyes for a while, the two of them completely alone and wrapped in one another's gaze in the empty cinema theatre, sat at the back of the room like a couple of school kids, despite what Daryl said. Beth smiled at the thought, then leant in to kiss him. He allowed it, kissing her back.
Twisting her body, Beth raised the arm between them, tucking it away between their seat, so she could get close to him. He wrapped his arm around her as she pulled her legs up onto the seat beneath her, getting closer to him.
Her heart pounded in her chest as he kissed her, her mind unable to comprehend the fact that this man even wanted to be kissing her. In a fit of passion, she moved herself over to him, climbing onto his lap and straddling him. Daryl leant back to look at her, his eyes lidded slightly, his lips parted.
Beth leant in and kissed him, slowly and sensually, taking his bottom lip into her own mouth and gently sucking on it. She felt him groan lightly beneath her, his hands finding their way to her rear, pulling her down onto him. Beth let go of his lip, allowing him to pull back and sigh. He looked into her eyes.
'We shoul' get goin',' he said.
'I don't want to,' Beth said softly.
'I know,' Daryl said, his lips hitching into a lopsided smile, 'bu'yer makin' me wanna do stuff t'ya I ain't got no right to do.'
Beth blushed.
'What do you mean?' she asked.
'Y'know I like ya,' he said softly, stroking his knuckles down her cheek, 'bu'there's more to this than just tha', if we ge'involved, people back a'th' prison'll ge'involved.'
Beth opened her mouth to retaliate, but Daryl continued before she could.
'An' y'keep kissing me like tha', I ain't always gonna be able t'pull m'self back,' he said, his eyes searching hers, 'I don't wanna sleep wi'ya in an old movie theatre, and to be real, I don't wanna sleep wi'ya yet. It's too soon.'
Beth tiled her head, her cheeks burning.
'But last night -' she said.
'Weren't sex,' Daryl said seriously. 'If y'wanna build up t'that we gotta go slow.'
'You've thought about that?' she asked, her mouth dry.
'Mm,' he ran his teeth up his bottom lip.
Beth looked away, suddenly feeling very exposed as she sat straddled across his lap. Her feelings for him burned hot incredibly often, but her moves were often done out of passion rather than though – last night had been one of those instances. She had not pulled Daryl into bed with any intentions, okay so it was at the back of her mind, but at the forefront, she just liked being close to him. It seemed Daryl had spent more time thinking things through than she had. Sure, her mind had wandered along those paths, and last night had all but blown her mind, but right now she was satisfied kissing him and maybe a few repeats of the night before – but sex was an altogether more terrifying concept.
'I dunno what y'an' Jimmy did in these cinemas,' he said softly, 'or how far y'went, but I know y'were sixteen when I met ya...' just saying it made Daryl feel awkward.
'I'm still a virgin,' she said softly, understanding his line of thought.
'Mm,' he nodded. He had assumed as much.
'Last night was the first time I -' she said, her cheeks burning red hot.
Daryl nodded; he had assumed she was a virgin, but he didn't know she was so inexperienced. The fact almost made him feel bad.
'So we ain't gon' rush.' He said.
She looked back up at him, his dark face honest. She smiled.
'Okay,' she said, leaning in to kiss him gently on the lips, 'let's get going then.'
Daryl nodded as she climbed off of him, adjusting himself and gathering his belongings.
'You're a good guy, Daryl,' Beth said, as she followed him back down the stairs and out into the lobby beyond, 'you know that?'
. . .
They walked back to the barn in the bright light, their eyes throbbing from the sudden onslaught of light from the darkened theatre. The building disappeared behind them, but their conversation did not. Beth knew things were changing between them, she had known it for some time, but the way he had spoken proved to her that he had thought about them and her maybe even more than she had. As they walked, Beth slipped her hand in Daryl's, and he didn't pull away. Comfort and pride seemed to radiate from their shared touch, travelling up her arm and into her heart, causing her to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling like an idiot.