First Impressions
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I don't own the Walking Dead!
"Sunshine, I think every inch of your counter is covered with sweets." Daryl chuckled as he munched on a cookie, it was his weekend off and when he first entered his sister's apartment the smell of baked goods was immediate. "Though I'm curious as to why."
"I was just in the mood to bake." Beth shrugged, she focused on pouring the cake batter into the pan to put into the oven. She was trying to keep her mind off of yesterday and when she lost her first patient. So Beth got out her newest cook book and set off to make all the recipes she hadn't tried. Harley wasn't there to try any of them but Daryl had stopped by so he was the next best test subject.
"So it doesn't have anything to do with Merle helping you out yesterday?" Daryl asked, Beth paused and looked over at Daryl who was looking over at her with caution in his eyes. "He told me some guy wouldn't let go of ya. That you looked pretty worried."
Beth looked down at the cake pan, she didn't want to think about it but knew she should talk about it so that she could put it away. Of course Beth wanted to forget that it even happened, hide under her covers, then maybe things would be alright someday but of course no one would let her do that. At least Beth hoped that none of her friends or family would let her do that.
"We lost a patient yesterday." Beth took the cake pan and put it in the oven, trying to keep herself busy to keep from the tears welling up in her eyes spilling over. "I'd never experienced that before and though the baby made it the mom didn't. She had a type of embolism, it's pretty rare. The dad didn't take it very well and I guess I was lucky Merle came by when he did."
"You know, it's okay to let out some tears." Daryl mumbled. It was something that Harley had told him that Beth taught her so he thought it may be a good thing to say during this time
"I just don't want to cry anymore." Beth turned and looked at him. "I'm scared that I'll lose more patients or babies and that if I cry or mourn them that means I can't handle this job"
"Beth, I don't know a lot about things but I do know that sometimes emotions can eat away at ya." Daryl looked at Beth and stared into her cornflower blue eyes. "I'm probably the most hypocritical person to be talking to about emotions and all that shit but I know that you're pretty damn strong just from the way Harley talks about you. I think you can handle this job."
"Really?" Beth asked timidly. Daryl smirked slightly and nodded which Beth responded with a wide smile.
"You know what, enough of this. Where does my sister keep the alcohol?" Daryl asked suddenly. Beth looked at him confused but pointed towards the cabinet that Harley had kept the drinks. Daryl walked over there and opened the cabinet, then started rummaging through.
"Peach Schnapps!? I thought I at least taught my sister better than some damn Peach Schnapps." Daryl scoffed at the bottle. Beth huffed at the man in front of her and he turned around, one eyebrow raised.
"I bought that for her as a gag gift when she was upset thank you very much." Beth held her head up. "If you notice, it's never been opened and we like to get it out when we want to laugh about stupid things we've done."
"Well that's comforting at least." Daryl shook his head and chuckled. "Ah, I knew she'd have the good stuff, moonshine at its finest."
"Can't that stuff make you go blind?" Beth asked as she looked at the Mason jar filled with clear liquid.
"Only the bad stuff." Daryl smirked and when he did Beth felt butterflies in her stomach. Daryl got out two shot glasses and handed one to Beth.
"What are we just taking shots? That doesn't sound very fun." Beth thought for a moment. "We should play 'I Never' that way we can get drunk and get to know each other."
"I never needed a game to get lit before." Daryl scoffed. Beth lifted an eyebrow and let out a small laugh.
"Are we starting already or something?" Beth smiled as Daryl rolled his eyes but filled the two glasses.
"Fine but have ta warn ya, I'm a dick when I'm drunk." Daryl looked at her and she knew there was something behind that statement that he was trying to get across. Beth shrugged, unaffected by it
"I've had to deal with Harley enough times, trust me when I say that she's not only a bitch when she's drunk but also violent." Beth grimaced when she remembered the few times Harley accidentally hit her. "She also has a heck of a right hook."
"You wanna start?" Daryl asked. Beth shrugged, having no preference for who went first.
"I never shot anything besides a gun." Beth smiled, clearly proud of herself. Daryl rolled his eyes but took the shot.
"Cheap shot." Daryl chuckled. "Fine you wanna play dirty then I will, I've never driven a tiny ass car before."
Beth glared at the rugged man before taking her shot. It went on like that for a couple of rounds, Daryl didn't notice at first since he was distracted by how confident Beth was and how easily she took the shots but soon it became apparent that the attractive blonde had an advantage over the man.
"I've never spooned my brother by accident before." Beth smiled proudly.
"Harley swore she'd never tell anyone!" Daryl let out a small growl. Beth could feel the effects of the alcohol already as she thought of how sexy the low growl was coming from him. "I never broke a bone."
"Sorry Mr. Dixon, I've only sprained my wrist or fractured my ankle. No broken bones for this girl." Beth smirked. "I've never been convinced by my sister to cut my hair, drunk or otherwise."
Daryl took his shot and then set the glass down, with what seemed to be a predatory stare he walked over towards Beth. His eyes were a dark blue and Beth couldn't help but back up, accidentally bumping into the counter next to the oven. Daryl placed both hands against the counter effectively pinning Beth between him and the sink. She was close enough to get a trace of his woodsy scent, there was also the lingering scent of cigarettes and worn leather. Beth couldn't help but let out a strangled gasp as Daryl ran his nose along her throat as he was breathing her in. If he hadn't had her pinned in Beth was sure that she would collapse.
"It seems to me sunshine that I'm at a disadvantage." Daryl murmured as he continued his assault on her neck. "You know all these stories about me and I only know a little about you."
"Well what do you want to do about that?" Beth breathed out. She felt dizzy and couldn't tell if it was from the moonshine or from the handsome man in front of her.
Daryl's lips started towards her own and Beth leaned towards him when suddenly there was a loud beeping noise and the smell of smoke. The two were broken apart and quickly the haze of whatever was happening faded as they realized they forgot about the cake Beth put in before they started taking shots and playing the game. Beth cursed her stupidity and anything else she could think of while Daryl was blaming himself. While the two worked together to clean up the burnt mess and almost fire, the door to Beth's apartment slammed open.
"Blondie I'm home!" Harley called, she walked into the kitchen and looked at the pair. "Shit, I didn't expect you to be here brother bear."
"Why?" Beth asked. Harley quirked an eyebrow up at her roommate, it was clear that both her brother and best friend were drunk as hell but as to why Harley had no idea.
"Well…" Harley trailed off. Just then a guy entered the apartment and Harley winced. "This is Chase, a friend of mine I've been hanging out with and hoped to introduce Beth to first."
"Why is that?" Daryl snorted. Beth rolled her eyes, even she was aware of his tendencies to overreact.
"You kidding me bear?" Harley cocked one hip to the side and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't mean to be rude but you can be an ass sometimes when you meet my guy friends, it's even worse when you're drunk."
"How about you and I take this to your room." Daryl glared at his little sister. She happily returned the glare full force but listened to him.
Beth winced as the door slammed shut and the two siblings voices started to rise. She took a minute to glance over at the guy who seemed to not knowing what to do. He had black hair that was close cut in the back but his bangs seemed to be a little shaggy, he had dark brown eyes that Beth couldn't tell where the pupil began or ended. He was lean and tall, Beth could see why Harley would be attracted to him if she was but if Beth was being honest with herself the guy in front of her was no Daryl.
"Sorry we aren't meeting under better circumstances." Beth grimaced. "Daryl was helping me get over something that happened."
"Hell of a way to help." Chase grinned. "Getting drunk and almost burning down an apartment seems like the best type of catharsis."
"So, how do you know Harley?" Beth asked. It was rare that Harley brought over guys for Beth to meet and so she knew it was important to her best friend, especially if Harley intended for him to meet Daryl.
"She helped me with my rib tattoo, did a fucking awesome job." Chase lifted his shirt up to reveal a phoenix tattoo on the left side of his chest done in a mixture of cool tones instead of the usual warm tones associated with the mythical bird. "That was about a month ago and since then we've been hanging out. I'm surprised Harley didn't mention it."
"Harley is very good at keeping things to herself when she feels like it benefits her." Beth winced as she thought about how harsh that must've sounded.
"Don't worry I understand, it's like pulling teeth sometimes when we talk." Chase flashed another smile. "I can imagine it's the same if not worse for Daryl."
It seemed that the two siblings were done arguing, at least for the moment as the door to Harley's room opened then slammed shut. Both were flushed with anger and Beth could tell that while Daryl seemed a lot calmer Harley's eyes sparked with frustration.
"Daryl I think it's time for you to leave. I'd take you home but I doubt we'd make it to your apartment." Harley then walked over and poured herself a shot of moonshine. "Besides I'm intoxicated."
Daryl muttered out a string of curse words aimed towards his sister. "Well what the hell am I supposed to do?"
"Chase can take you." Harley smirked, clearly satisfied with herself.
"Yeah man, if you're okay with it." Chase nodded, Beth wondered if they planned this out to a degree.
It was a couple of minutes but Daryl sighed and nodded. The two men left leaving Beth and Harley alone. Harley took another shot, she noticed all the baked goods but thankfully didn't say anything choosing instead to grab a fork from the dishwasher and dig into one of the pies.
"So do I want to know what was going on with you and my brother?" Harley asked through a mouth full of pie. "If it's anything that you believe would make me lose my pie or lunch, don't tell me. I don't want to know if my brother and my best friend are bumping uglies."
Beth laughed, she felt her face heat up and blamed the fact that she was drunk. "Honestly we were just talking, I forgot there was a cake in the oven and it almost caught on fire."
Harley let out a snort. "Oh come on blondie, you two were taking shots at four o' clock in the evening. Even when you and I got drunk you still had half a mind more than me. There must have been something distracting you. Or should I say someone?"
"Okay, Daryl and I almost kissed." Beth couldn't help but grin like a fool. Harley's eyes widened and she grinned as well.
"Fucking hell, I have the worst timing!" Harley hit the table, making Beth jump. "If I hadn't walked in when I did you guys might have just resumed your activities. As gross as that is to think about."
"Wait, you'd be okay with that?" Beth asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah." Harley nodded, she made her way over to the fridge and grabbed a beer. "I think you and Daryl will be good for each other. You make him less of an ass and he makes you less of a princess."
"Maybe Chase will make you less of a bitch." Beth stuck out her tongue like a mature adult. She squeal as Harley flicked some pie at her.
"I'm taking things slow with him. I don't even know if he feels that way about me." Harley looked at Beth. "I'm curious though, if Daryl were to try and kiss you again would you want that?"
Beth thought about it, she thought about how he felt pressed up against her and how her heart raced. The young blonde smiled at kissing the rugged man, she wanted to know how it felt and even more. A smile grew on her face once again as Beth knew her answer, one that she was confident about. Beth would be kissing Daryl Dixon, whether he initiated the kiss or not. Though she didn't think he would mind. Beth just needed a plan.
Yay, so I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I certainly did. I thought about having them kiss but I didn't want it to be too soon. I don't want it to be too slow of a burn either so I'm trying to balance things out. Also I asked you lovely people about having a story from Harley's POV and I think I confused you guys. It would be separate from First Impressions and I was thinking of going into how Harley and Beth met, missing scenes from FI, and things like that. Daryl and Beth would still be the main focus of the story but it would just be from Harley's POV. Sorry for the long A/N. Reviews are appreciated as always! Until next time lovelies!