A/N: Thank you so much you amazingly wonderful people!
I was so nervous writing this (still am, by the way), but I felt it was a subject which is not discussed enough in literature. I personally like to write stories that can help change how a person views certain circumstances in their lives. If you're not reading The Road To Happiness, I mentioned that I was ill a while back. It was a very frightening time in mine and my family's lives, but through that time I learned how to smile, laugh and be truly happy, no matter what the outcome was to be. I didn't let my illness define me. If I can help just one person look at things differently when they face hardships, then I know there is purpose in what I write :-)
Thank you all for your support xoxox
………
Chapter Three
He was dying. That was the only explanation Daryl could come up with when he woke up that morning (or afternoon...he didn't quite know), his head thumping and mouth drier than Ghandi's flip-flop. With the all too familiar groan, he gingerly lifted his head from its less than comfortable position on the floor; his back giving off a sickly pop when he turned to see his left leg resting lazily on the sofa (jeans around his ankles but boots still intact). Maybe dying was a bit far fetched after all. Hungover (yet again)was probably closer to the truth. With a huffed sigh and a less than elegant roll onto all fours, Daryl slowly hauled himself to his feet before pulling his jeans back up and staggering towards the bathroom. A long shower and an entire tube of toothpaste for breakfast was just what he needed.
It had been two days since the little blonde had moved in across the hall. Two days where he had successfully managed to avoid any form of contact with her. The morning after she had (kindly, he'll admit) brought him over some dinner, he had quietly crept over to her apartment and hung a plastic bag containing her plate and Tupperware box over the door knob before ceremoniously swan diving back into the safety of his own home. Hiding out with a few bottles of bud had seemed less terrifying than facing the overly enthusiastic bundle of joy that was known as 'Beth'. It wasn't that he didn't like her. He didn't even know her. He was just pretty certain that even in her pissiest of moods she'd be beaming from ear to ear.
Once showered and dressed, Daryl couldn't help but groan at the sound of his phone chirping away; a message from Merle and Martinez saying that they were already outside waiting for him. He could already tell that it was going to be one of 'those' days. Heaving a sigh, he quickly fixed his Ray Bans on, grabbed his smokes and headed out the door. Thanks to the new arrival of Beth, Daryl had been forced to scrape together the money that he owed 'The Idiot'. With the window service out of bounds now, he wanted to feel he could leave his apartment without fear of losing it; but he had to admit, using the elevator (like a normal person) did make commuting that tad bit easier.
Locking up, Daryl quietly made his way down the hall towards the lift; a quick glance towards Beth's door letting him know that he was in no danger of bumping into her. But as he got closer to his escape, he realized the large caged doors were already open, the very person that he was trying to avoid sitting inside the steel box struggling to close them.
"Aw, shit..." He grumbled, quickly turning back in hopes that she hadn't seen him.
...But to no such luck. The loud gasp that sounded out from behind him was enough to stop him dead in his tracks.
"Hi, Daryl Dixon!" Came her overly cheerful greeting, her small giggle grating on his last nerve "Goin' down?"
Don't be a dick...Do not be a dick...Forcing what he hoped resembled something of a smile, Daryl turned back to face the bubbly blonde, her own beaming grin threatening to blind him.
"Uh, hi Beth..." He replied, his voice cracking worse than Mickey Mouse's during puberty "Uh, yeah I'm goin' down, but don't worry, I can take the stairs."
Chuckling, Beth only rolled her eyes before wheeling herself back slightly to give him more space.
"Oh, don't be silly." She smiled while ushering him in "I'm headin' the same way, and there is more than enough room for the two of us."
"...Great..."
Pushing his sunglasses further up his nose, Daryl reluctantly stepped into the elevator, all the while silently praying that it didn't break down. She seemed to be a nice enough girl, but he was 99.9% sure that if he got trapped in a confined space with her, then he'd most likely use the laces from his boots to kill himself. Leaning up against the wall, Daryl watched as Beth tried to wrestle with the cage once again, a small grunt escaping past her lips as she pulled. He literally heard the words 'Don't be a dick' ring out in his ears once again. Clearing his throat slightly, he slowly shuffled towards her.
"Here..." He murmured, taking hold of the gate and pulling it across "It sticks sometimes."
Pushing herself back, she smiled; a small nod of the head letting him know she was grateful. Hitting the button for the ground floor, Beth jumped slightly as the old box slowly (very slowly, in Daryl's opinion) began its descent, the old creaking and squealing workings bringing no sense of comfort to either of them. It wasn't until Daryl had taken his post against the wall once again, did he finally take in Beth's appearance, and to say that it hadn't left him at least a little intrigued would be a lie; for sitting before him was not the colourful girl that he had met only two days prior; but instead, a girl who looked like she was ready to go to war. From head to toe she sat in camouflage gear, two black streaks painted under each wide blue eye.
As if reading his mind, she giggled, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"I'm goin' on a scavenger hunt with Maggie and her boyfriend." She informed, proudly adjusting the cap that sat atop her wild curls "Bein' a country girl, right now I'm about as geographically confused as a penguin in Africa...Wait, can you get penguins in Africa? I don't think you can, but then again Madagascar said you could, and I'm not one for arguin' with the creators of such profound cinematography...So maybe that's not the best analogy after all..." With a small shrug of the shoulders she turned to face him "Anyway, you get the idea. They thought if they put clues around the city I could learn my way around and have a bit of fun at the same time...I felt it was appropriate to dress for the occasion." Leaning over a little she held her hand up to her mouth before whispering "Between you and me, Daryl Dixon, The Hunger Games are safer than a Greene Family Scavenger Hunt!"
There were a thousand questions running through Daryl's mind at that moment, the most predominately being 'What the fuck are The Hunger Games?'. But biting his tongue, he carried on with his polite 'smile', a small nod of the head giving off the impression that he knew exactly what she was on about. He hoped anyway.
"...Well it definitely sound's...interestin'..." Was all he could muster up in the end, tucking a cigarette behind his ear as he pushed one in between his teeth.
"Oh, it's great fun!" She exclaimed, laughing as the elevator touched down "Hey, why don't you come along!? You could be my 'Scavenger Buddy', and I'm sure Glenn would enjoy the company..."
"Uh..." Daryl stumbled out as he tried to calmly open the gate "I'm actually meetin' my brother and my sorry excuse for a friend, so...
"Oh, no worries then." Beth beamed happily "We're goin' to stop off at Hal's Pizzeria on the way back, so I'll bring you back a slice, how's that sound?" Without waiting for an answer, she wheeled herself out from the elevator with a smile before stopping in the hallway "Maggie and Glenn are pickin' me up out front in a few, so I'll get you out."
Readjusting his Ray Bans, Daryl cleared his throat (for the thousandth time) before following Beth out into the hallway. Knowing that Merle and Martinez were already outside waiting on him, he found the groan rumbling deep in his chest threatening to burst forth. The last thing he needed was the two of them quizzing him on the girl. As quickly as possible, he began to lead the way down the hall towards the door; Beth waving to 'The Idiot' through his office window as they passed. Does the girl just like everyone!?
Stepping into to the cool autumn air, Daryl wasted no time in lighting his cigarette, the disgusted scrunching of Beth's nose not going unnoticed by him. If a smoke was all it took for the girl to spit the coat hanger out her mouth, then he'd make sure every time she seen him he'd have one 'conveniently' at hand. But just when he thought that she was going to open her mouth and complain (a stupid thought really), she turned to look over at the two assholes that awaited him, the all too familiar smile began to creep across her face once again.
"Is that your brother?" She asked excitedly before waving to the two loitering out front.
"Unfortunately." He replied with a grumble, a cloud of smoke filling the air.
With confusion dancing in his eyes, Merle hesitantly waved back before tugging Martinez over to join the pair, the confusion quickly fading away to a smirk.
"Well, well, well..." Merle drawled out, turning to glance at an equally amused Martinez "Who's this lovely little thing?" Nudging Daryl, he chuckled, Beth's smile never faltering "Never took you as a ladies man, Baby Brother."
"Fuck off." Daryl mumbled, taking a long draw from his smoke "S'my new neighbour."
"What a wonderful pleasure to meet you, Daryl Dixon's Brother." Beth beamed, holding out a hand to shake "I'm Elizabeth Anne Greene, but you can call me Beth. Or Wheels! Glenn sometimes calls me Flash, you know, as in Flash Gordon, but I don't like him too much. I much prefer Spiderman, but Spiderman doesn't quite have the same ring to it, don't you think?" Glancing at Daryl from the corner of his eye, Merle could only smirk, Beth's rambling never ceasing "First time my Daddy heard him call me that, he near damned buried him. But I don't mind the nick names, so feel free to call me what you wish."
Chuckling slightly, Merle dipped his head in a mock bow before taking her hand in his.
"Well then, I think I'll call you Beautiful." He smirked, placing a kiss to the back of her knuckles, Beth giggling at his chivalrousness "They call me Merle."
"They also call him Prick." Daryl mumbled, flicking his butt away with a deep sigh "So feel free to call him what you wish. We ready to go now?"
With a roll of the eyes, Merle glanced up at his little brother, a soft tsk escaping past his lips as he let go of Beth's hand.
"You must excuse my little ray of sunshine here, Miss Beth." He drawled once again, his dirty smirk causing Daryl's blood to boil "He's not much of a charmer."
"We're tryin' to reign him in a bit." Martinez joked, scratching his chin "Ain't goin' too well at the moment."
With a huffed sigh and a strangled 'Oh, for fuck's sake', Daryl took a seat on the step. He couldn't remember a time in his life where he had been itching to spend the day with the two morons as much as he was then. Anything to get away from the little 'get together'. The minute he saw the familiar face of Maggie pull up with a guy he presumed to be the infamous 'Glenn', Daryl almost wept with joy. Honking the horn to the truck, Maggie sent him a wave as Beth squealed in excitement.
"Well, I best be goin'." She smiled, wheeling herself towards the ramp "It was lovely meetin' you guys."
"You too, Sweetheart." Merle chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest.
Making her way down the ramp, Beth was greeted at the bottom by Glenn; a nervous smile shot in their direction as he hurriedly pushed her towards the truck's open door.
"Oh, and Daryl Dixon!" She called out, Glenn carefully lifting her out of her chair before sitting her in the Chevy "If you change your mind about joinin' us later, you've still got my number. Just give me a call." Closing the door to the truck, Glenn quickly piled the old wheelchair into the back as Beth wound down her window to shout out once again "I hope you all have a wonderfully magnificent day filled with more adventure than you could ever possibly imagine!"
With a joyous giggle, Beth waved her goodbyes as Maggie pulled out. It was only when the old truck was out of sight did Daryl let out the loud groan that he had been holding at bay. Pulling the unlit cigarette from behind his ear, he eagerly lit up as Merle and Martinez burst into a fit of laughter.
"Well she's certainly..." Martinez began, glancing in the direction the truck disappeared down "Upbeat..."
"I'm goin' to find myself in an early grave with that girl livin' across the hall..." Daryl whined, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a draw from his cigarette.
"Aw, c'mon, Dixon..." Martinez scoffed behind a chuckle, kicking Daryl's boot slightly "What's she goin' to do? Run you over?"
Daryl could only glare up at his friend before flipping him the bird.
"Well, I like her." Merle laughed, pulling his angered brother to his feet "Can't say I remember the last neighbour lookin' as fine."
"Merle!" Daryl cried, turning to face him "...She's fuckin' crazy, man! No one can be that happy and not have some serious fucked up shit goin' on inside their head!" Running a hand through his hair, he drew from his cigarette before blowing another cloud into the air "I mean, she's happy without being under the influence. That was her sober!"
"And it was a terrifyin' ordeal that I don't quite think I'll ever recover from." Merle mumbled with another roll of the eyes before slapping a hand to his baby brother's back, his loud laughter soon ringing out "C'mon, Darlena...let's get you busy before you have a stroke."
Muttering away, Daryl followed.
………
The rest of the day had turned into a blur of nothingness in the end. A mindless traipse from here to there until the sun had gone down. Walking the streets, through the countless faces in the crowds, Daryl had found himself wondering if a day with the kooky blonde would have been so bad after all. If he had just called her...If he had just went on the damn scavenger hunt, then maybe he wouldn't have found himself suffocating in the all too familiar room that he sat in now.
He blamed the two morons for the predicament he found himself in. If it hadn't of been for them and their stupidity, then maybe he would have gotten away too. Maybe. Like the last (failed) job, it had seemed simple enough. With two cars and three of them, the odds seemed to be in their favour.
Pulling the short straw, Daryl had been landed the job of tackling the Prius, the fucking pink Prius (which he had so eloquently reminded them of every 5 seconds). Merle and Martinez (the bastards), had just laughed as they jimmied their way into the Mustang. The minute his ass had touched the seat and he saw the explosion of femininity, he had literally felt his testicles jump back up inside of him. Never in his life had he wanted to get a job done as quickly as he did then.
The hot wiring had gone by without a problem. For him any way. But the minute Merle got the Mustang fired up, the alarm sounded. With panic in their eyes they had kicked both cars into gear and shot out the street as fast as they could. Taking the left turning at the end of the road, Daryl had actually believed he was going to get the car back to Martinez' garage without any hassle. That was until the the familiar sound of sirens calling out behind him sounded. Two minutes later he found himself forced to a stop...and in a fucking pink Pruis of all cars.
Three hours into his arrest, and Daryl was starting to believe that every cop in the vicinity was in the staff room laughing their asses off at him. But no sooner had the thought crossed his mind, did the door to the room open.
"Dixon." Came the huffed sigh from his 'interrogator' "See you've been fuckin' up again."
"Hey Leon." Daryl smiled, clasping his hands on the table "Always a pleasure seein' you."
"Yeah, yeah..." Leon mumbled, throwing the case file onto the table "You'll be please to know that Father Stokes and his wife will not be pressin' charges against you on this occasion."
"How thoughtful of them." Daryl beamed, sitting back in his seat "When you returned the car, did they happen to find my balls rollin' about the floor, by any chance?"
"Steal a chick's car, Daryl..." The officer smirked, shuffling the papers before him "You're goin' to regret it."
"Thanks for the reminder, Leon." He sneered in reply "So can I go now?"
"Yep." Leon nodded, a small smirk tugging at his lips "As soon as you pay bail."
"Bail!?" Daryl cried, his eyes wide with outrage "You just told me the charges were dropped!"
"They were dropped..." Leon replied, gathering the case file together once again "By Father Stokes. His neighbour however, is slightly pissed that you ripped up her new lawn during your 'getaway'."
"This is total bullshit, y'know that?" Daryl muttered, scowling at the smug officer "...give me the fuckin' phone..."
………
She had thought she was dreaming when she heard it sound. The cheerful chirp from her bedside table that snapped her awake. Glancing at the clock, Beth couldn't help but feel the panic build up inside when she saw that it was 3am; thoughts of her Father falling ill or her Mother having had a fall flooding her mind. Switching on the lamp, she grabbed her ringing cell, her panic quickly fading away to confusion when she saw the unfamiliar number flash up. Wasting no more time, she answered.
"Hello?" She spoke in wonder.
Silence.
"Hello..." She drawled out "Is anyone there?" But again, there was no reply "I'm hangin' up now. Have a wonderful evenin'..."
"Beth, Beth...wait..." The familiar voice sounded out.
"Daryl Dixon?" She smiled "You're a little late for the scavenger hunt...What are you doin' callin' me so early?"
"I, uh...You said I could call you if I ever needed anythin'...right?" He asked, nervousness dripping in his voice.
"Of course." She replied, running a hand through her curls "Is everythin' alright?"
"Actually...I kinda need a favour..."
………
A/N: Well guys,I REALLY hope that you enjoyed that chapter. Fingers crossed. Please, please,please let me know what you all thought. Lots of love and hugs to you all! :-)
Also guys, I love listening to music when I read, and for most of my stories, I like to set a playlist out that helps inspire me. So here is the 'Soundtrack' if you will to Inside I'm Dancing. Enjoy :-)
1. Daylight – Matt and Kim
2. You Make My Dreams Come True – Hall & Oates
3. Send Me On My Way – Rusted Root
4. Superheroes – The Script
5. People Help The People – Birdy
6. Collide – Howie Day
7. Smile – Uncle Kracker
8. Something I Need - OneRepublic
9. Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) – Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
10. Hoppipolla – Sigur Rós
11. Feels Like Home – Edwina Hayes
12. What You Want – John Butler Trio
13. Saving Your Regrets - Mere
14. Hurt - Johnny Cash
15. Colorblind – Counting Crows
16. All I Need – Mat Kearney
17. Eyes – Rogue Wave
18. Return To Innocence – Enigma