Party AU

Everyone was drunk, and Jimmy was staring at her from across the room. Again.

Beth couldn't believe her luck. Of course she would accidentally have too many shots of tequila on the one night that they went to a party in Jimmy's neighborhood. She should have thought it through. But now here she was, trying to stay upright in her booted heels, surrounded by inebriated strangers. Even Maggie had abandoned her to go find Glenn somewhere in the house.

Not that Beth missed Jimmy at all – she had been the one to end it, but he had been…difficult about it. He's just a big whiny baby, she thought to herself with a giggle and a hiccup. But then she noticed him leering at her drunkenly from across the room, and quickly stopped smiling. It was actually kinda creepy.

Beth felt a hand on her shoulder and spun on the spot, making herself dizzy.

Strong hands caught her as she started to fall, straightening her back up and keeping a steady grasp on one of her arms to help her balance. She got a glimpse of piercing blue eyes peeking out behind a tangle of dark, messy hair. Oh wow.

"'M sorry, it's just that I wanted to tell you…that guy over there's been lookin' at you funny all night. And not in a nice way… didn't mean to make ya fall."

Beth focused on steadying her breath – this guy was gorgeous. He was probably a little older than her, and certainly scruffy, but something about him made her feel calm. He was dressed all in black, a leather jacket over his wide shoulders, and a cigarette resting behind one ear. He was sexy, and Beth had to physically stop herself from staring open mouthed.

"Oh…uh..thanks," she said, clearing her thoughts. Keep it PG, Beth, she thought to herself. She had to remember her filter when she was drunk – especially around someone this good looking.

"Yeah, I noticed. That's actually my ex-boyfriend. He's had trouble letting go…"

Beth blushed furiously, even though there really wasn't any reason to be embarrassed.

"Oh," the hot stranger said in a low voice, looking over her shoulder to something behind her, "well then, you should probably know, he's comin' over here. Do you want some privacy?"

Beth shook her head frantically. No, she definitely didn't want to be left alone with Jimmy. Not ever. Not after the way he had handled their breakup. "Please stay…"

But she noticed her new attractive friend straighten up, so she turned around to face Jimmy, who was standing way too close for comfort. Loud music was blaring all around them, but Beth could feel herself sobering up at the sight of her ex.

"Hey Beth, is this guy bothering you?"

Beth heard her new friend make a deep growling noise. It was actually kinda hot.

"Oh… hi Jimmy," she said, turning red. Her mind was running a mile a minute, trying to figure out how to get out of having a conversation with him. So, pretending as though she hadn't noticed him staring at her for the past 20 minutes, Beth said, "no, this is actually –"

" – Daryl Dixon, Beth's new boyfriend," Daryl cut her off, extending his hand out to Jimmy's to shake. He took a protective step closer to Beth. She could practically feel herself turning a deeper shade of red.

Jimmy had turned a bright, angry red to rival her. Uh oh, Beth thought. He was really drunk, and that was never good news.

"Wooooow, really Beth? Already? It's only been, what, like a month? I bet you couldn't keep your pants on, could you? What a whore."

Beth had opened her mouth angrily to retort, but was saved the trouble when Daryl Dixon slammed his fist into Jimmy's face. She gasped. So did everyone around them.

Daryl was looking down at Jimmy who was now sprawled on the floor, clutching his nose in pain. It was bleeding. Someone in the crowd laughed.

"You best learn how to treat women with respect, boy, or you'll get more where that came from," he growled.

Jimmy scrambled to his feet and pushed past the crowd in the direction of the bathroom, his nose dripping on the carpet.

Daryl tapped Beth on the shoulder and nodded his head to the left. "C'mon Beth, let's get you some water."

He extended his arm, which she gratefully accepted. She was still way too drunk to be walking around by herself – especially in these damn heels. She was shivering, too, suddenly realizing how stupid she had been to forget to bring a sweater. And she was in shock. She'd never witnessed anyone throw a punch before, much less overher.

They reached the kitchen, which was empty but for a few drunk people also looking for water. Daryl wordlessly shrugged off his jacket (revealing a dark green t-shirt) and placed it over Beth's cold shoulders. She smiled at him bashfully, and hopped up to sit on one of the many kitchen counters. Daryl turned and reached up into a cabinet to procure a glass, which he filled with water and handed to her. Beth raised her eyebrows.

"This your house?"

"Nah," he said with a shake of his head, "it's my brother Merle's. He throws a lotta parties, always invites too many people he doesn't know."

Beth turned red again – she didn't know Merle. In fact, the only reason she had come at all was to hang out with her sister, who was nowhere to be seen. And then she had had too many shots of tequila. Beth felt silly – here she was, drunk, and being taken care of by a strange man who had just punched her ex boyfriend in the face to defend her honor. It felt like a soap opera.

"M'sorry if I scared you," Daryl added slowly, looking up at her, stopping her breath. "Sometimes I just can't stop myself. Guys like that piss me off."

Beth shook her head. "It's okay. He had it comin.' Next time, I think I can take care of myself, though."

She didn't want this attractive stranger to think she was totally helpless.

"Fair enough," he responded, a small grin settling on his handsome face. "I'm Daryl Dixon, by the way."

Beth grinned at him and stuck out her hand, "Beth Greene."

They shook hands, staring at each other, each one sizing the other one up. Beth couldn't help but notice how muscular this guy's arms were. Oh, God, she really was drunk if she was letting herself get distracted by muscles.

Before she could say another word, a giggling Maggie strolled into the kitchen, her hand clasped around Glenn's.

"Beth! There you are! Been looking for you everywhere! Someone said you started a fight?!"

"Nah, that was me," Daryl said quickly, looking at the floor.

Maggie looked at him, and then back at Beth, who was now sitting on a counter and fiddling with a pen she had found in an open drawer next to her.

"Beth, who's this?"

There was an awkward pause.

"This is Daryl, my new boyfriend," Beth responded, laughing suddenly. "He was defending my honor."

Maggie gave her a confused grin. "Beth, either I'm really drunk, or you're really drunk because you're not making any sense."

"You're both really drunk," Glenn said, looking back and forth at the two of them with an amused expression. "And it's time I drive you guys home. Before anyone gets a chance to start another fight…"

"Beth's staying at my place tonight," Maggie responded, already turning to leave, dragging Glenn with her. "C'mon Bethy!"

Beth felt her face get hot at the sound of her stupid nickname. She turned to Daryl, who had remained quiet, watching her shyly.

"I gotta go," Beth said. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

"Anytime," he responded, a small smile appearing on his face for a split-second. Beth almost thought she had imagined it.

Beth turned to walk out the kitchen door before stopping and turning around again. She was still shaky on her legs, but she felt confident for the first time tonight. She pranced right back over to Daryl and grabbed his hand, opening it wide, palm down

"This is my number," she said as she scrawled the digits on the back of his hand, in what she hoped was neat writing. "Gimme a call sometime, maybe I can return the favor and punch one of your ex-girlfriends or something…"

Beth heard him chuckle at her stupid attempt at a joke. Then without thinking, she stood up on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek. His beard was rough beneath her, but he smelled like pine trees and aftershave. It was nice.

Before turning to leave, she caught Daryl smiling at her again, this time with his hand on his cheek, his face bright red. As if he couldn't believe she had kissed him at all.

Then she scurried out of the room before her bravery ran out on her.

When Beth woke up the next morning, the first thing she noticed was her painful hangover. The second thing was her phone – she had eight new messages from an unknown number:

2:30 am: {i hope you made it home ok}

9:30 am: {gimme a call when u wake up, if u want}

9:30 am: {this is daryl by the way}

9:30 am: {the guy from last night}

9:35 am: {i just realized u might not remember me}

9:35 am: {i punched your ex}

9:35 am: {it was mostly an accident}

9:40 am: {im bad at this sorry}

Beth let out a chuckle. His awkwardness was cute. She unplugged her phone from the wall, threw the covers over her head (complete darkness helped soothe her headache), and dialed his number, a grin plastered on her face. Maybe last night hadn't been a complete waste after all.