The hands on the clock ticked and the last few minutes seemed to have stretched out for hours. The store had been quiet for a good while now, but that wasn't unusual. The first few hours after opening were always slow. That's why she was so eager for the time to pass. That and no other reason, she told herself as she sung along quietly to the song playing through the speakers overhead. Right on time the bell above the door chimed and her face lit up in a smile. The little dark haired boy walked in with a grin that rivaled her own in its brilliance. A second later that tall surly man trailed behind the child looking just as indifferent as ever.
They had a routine. Every Wednesday, the clock struck four thirty and the pair came in. The boy looked around and the three of them would talk a bit. Sometimes he would play with some of the instruments set out on display, but most of the time he browsed through the ever-growing selection of music looking for something to help him in his endeavor to expand his already huge library at home. The man would follow him, pay for whatever CD the kid chose that week, and they would leave.
"Hey Beth!" The kid waved across the store with the same enthusiasm he greeted her every other week. She set down the cases she was sorting through to wave back and start across the store until she was in front of her favorite regulars.
"Hey Ryder, Daryl." The young blonde responded to which the man grunted a hello and they started their peruse of the shelves they'd looked over a hundred times.
"Guess what Beth, Uncle Daryl said I can get two CD's this week!" Ryder told her excitedly, turning away from the discs in front of him to gauge her reaction. If there was anything that kid counted on her for, it was her ability to match his love for music.
"Did he really? That's great, kiddo, I actually just got a shipment of new artists I think you might like. You know, if your interested..." Beth told him, teased him really, because all three of them knew well he'd be interested and tell her so in a second. The kid's turned around to look at her so fast he lost his balance and Daryl snorted at Beth's subtle teasing as he rightened his nephew. She shot him a smile and felt pride flare up in her when his lips twitched slight upward in response.
"Of course I'm interested, Beth! Go get it!" The boy said, looking at her in that exasperated way kids do when adults say things that are Completely Ridiculous. One sharp look from Daryl and he added, "Please. Go get it, please."
She laughed a little and complied, promising to return in a few minutes before she disappeared into the back of the store to find the CD's she had set aside. They were perfect for the kid, she knew they would be. When she'd seen them in the catalog she usually ordered from, she thought of him immediately. Beth had no doubt Ryder would love the music she ordered.
She found the box she was looking for and picked it up when a bang and a yelp drew her attention away from the task at hand. She quickly made her way out to see what had happened, and found herself in front a guilty looking man, a tearful kid flat on his butt, and a broken guitar. She had put that one on display just that morning and it was damn expensive. Beth cringed a little at the sight of the splintered wood.
"What happened?" She asked levelly, her eyes flickering from Ryder to Daryl. Daryl opened his mouth to answer, but the kid beat him to it.
"I swear it was an accident. I tripped." He said quietly, and watching the way the child's lip quivered as he tried not to cry broke her heart. She couldn't help but let any trace of anger or worry over the broken instrument deflate. Beth ran a hand over her face and let out a sigh.
"It's okay, accidents happen." She soothed and Daryl scoffed.
"Even thousand dollar accidents?" He bit out, looking down at the guitar. Beth shot him a look and he shut up quickly.
"Yeah, even thousand dollar accidents, Daryl." She said, offering her hand down to Ryder and looking the guitar over. "Besides, I think we might be able to save this one yet. I've got friends that specialize in this kind of thing."
"That's still gotta cost money, right?" Daryl asked her. It did in fact, but she wasn't going to tell him that. They really were her favorite customers, and her store had provided her with some financial wiggle room.
"It's fine." Beth smiled up at him. She shifted her attention to Ryder and the box in her arms. "I found these, why don't you take it over to the counter and look through them?"
The boy agreed, though the enthusiasm had lessened and she knew he was still upset about the accident. Daryl huffed, watching him go and Beth looked back at him.
"What?" She asked. He met her eyes for a moment before dropping his gaze to his boots, nibbling on his thumb nail.
"I know it don't cost nothin' getting it fixed, if you even can." He told her, glancing back up at her. "Let me pay you somethin', or do somethin' for you."
They watched Ryder in silence for a few moments as she thought it over, the only sounds in the store the music playing quietly on the speakers and the clatter of disc cases as they were rifled through. An idea popped into her head and she looked at Daryl with a small smile. He just stared back questioningly. She stole herself for a moment. Once the words were out there she really couldn't take them back. She didn't think she'd want to anyways.
"Takemeonadate." Beth said in a jumbled whoosh of words. He blinked at her a few times before he spoke.
"What?" Daryl choked out.
"Take me on a date." She insisted.
"I- okay." He conceded and she smiled up at him just as the bell above the door chimed and another customer walked in.
"Okay." Beth agreed, picking up the broken guitar and moving away to greet the newcomer. She supposed if there was anything good that came from that broken guitar, it was that she had a date with Daryl Dixon, and really, she couldn't be happier.