A/N: Chapter 3 is upon us. I hope you like this chapter… And I hope I'm not rushing into things! :s
Bethybethyl have their first chapter up now! Go read it!
A Case of the Blues: Chapter 3
** BETH **
Beth collapsed onto her bed after her performance at the diner. When she had finished, she had ran out of there as fast as she could. Now in bed, she rested the back of her hand against her forehead and stared at the ceiling, desperately trying to think. The man at the diner was so unbelievably familiar, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. He had long, brown hair that teased his shoulders and hung over his eyes. And god, she would know that crooked smile anywhere. She just couldn't, for the life of her, remember his name or how she knew him.
She laid and thought about him until the early hours of the morning. It wasn't until she checked her phone and the time read 4am that she really thought it best to get some sleep. She curled onto her side and subconsciously chewed her lip, still in deep thought about the man. She shut her eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.
All of a sudden, she was stood in front of a strangely familiar cabin. It looked abandoned, until a man with long brown hair and tattered clothing exited. He walked towards her and gave her a crooked smile before reaching out his hand and taking hers with it.
"Come inside," he said, his voice guttural and raspy, but friendly.
She complied, taking his hand and walking inside the cabin. The walls were covered in children's drawings, the floor was littered with children's books and in the middle of it all there was an old, torn up sofa which held so many memories that she couldn't remember. She perched on the edge and the mysterious man sat beside her, and looked into her eyes. The sensation was eerily familiar and she wanted to be frightened, but she wasn't. She was content here. Suddenly, he spoke, taking her hands in his as he did so.
"This is going to sound crazy, but... from the moment I first set eyes on you I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."
Beth couldn't speak. Her mouth was fused shut. All she could do was look at him, into his lonely eyes.
"Beth? Don't you remember me?"
Her entire body was rooted in position. Looking into the man's eyes, he looked lost. He looked lonely and broken, and she wanted to help him. She couldn't move for the life of her. She tried, lord knows she tried, but nothing was happening. Nothing was working. It wasn't until he spoke again that she could feel her heart rising into her throat.
"It's me, Daryl."
Beth sat up with a gasp, realising she was in her bed. At home. Not in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Her chest heaved and she fought for her breath.
"Daryl…" she whispered to herself.
She darted out of bed and dressed hurriedly before running into her living room. Lounging on the sofa was none other than Maggie, her older sister; her roommate.
Maggie turned her head and looked at Beth, a confused expression on her face.
"You okay Beth? You look like you've seen a ghost." Beth was still breathing heavily, still fighting for air, until she eventually sat down beside her sister and stared ahead, unsure of what to do.
"Beth? Earth to Beth?! What the hell is going on with you?" Maggie's voice was demanding, and she was waving her hand in front of her eyes. Slowly, Beth brought her own hand up to softly push Maggie's away, and then she looked at her sister for the first time that morning.
"M.. Maggie? Do you remember when I used to run away from home to see that boy?"
Maggie shook her head and sighed. "Bethy, you know we agreed not to talk about that. It only causes arguments- "
"But Maggie, I saw him," Beth stated, interrupting her sister.
"Him? You mean the boy?"
Beth only nodded.
"How do you know it was him?" Her sister asked.
"There was something familiar about him, Mags, I couldn't put my finger on it, until I dreamt it last night."
Maggie massaged her temples and wondered what they were going to do. "Did you speak to him?" Beth only shook her head. "Good. You can't be around him. Remember what daddy told you, he was a dangerous boy and he wasn't to have anything to do with you," she sighed.
Beth dropped her eyes to her hands as they fiddled with the hem of her yellow sundress. "But Mags, I never wanted to stop seeing him. He was a nice boy, I never understood the issue."
"Beth, you couldn't have known, you were just a kid- "
"I cared about him, Maggie." Beth interrupted again.
Maggie went wide-eyed as she stared at her sister. "You couldn't have, you were only eight, Bethy!" she told her.
"No, Mags, it wasn't like that, but he was my best friend, you know? The only friend I could be myself around," Beth whispered. She heard her sister sigh and she looked at her, a sneaky smile growing on both of their faces.
"Oh Bethy, you were always the sweet one," Maggie giggled and hugged her sister. "But seriously Beth, if you wanna see this guy that may or may not be your childhood best friend, you have to promise me you'll be careful."
Beth nodded, agreeing to her sisters conditions. She stood up and began to walk back to her bedroom when her sister called for her again. She turned around and gave her sister a questioning look.
"You sure you trust this guy?" Maggie asked.
She smiled and nodded. She knew now that the feeling never left, it did quite the opposite. It grew. It grew until there was not a piece of her that did not care about him. And all of a sudden, twenty years later, she wanted to see him again. Needed to see him again.
She laid back down on her bed and her mind drifted to Daryl instantly. She remembers being 8 years old, returning home late at night and having to face the staring eyes and pounding voices, asking where the hell she had been. She explained that she had made a new friend, and as innocent as it sounded, evidently worried her family. They refused to let her see the Dixon boy, stating that the Dixon bloodline was bad news. She continued to sneak out though, with the help of her older sister, despite her families protests until they insisted that somebody stay with her at all times until she finally forgot about him. Except she never forgot about him – she just learned how to cope without him.
Twenty years later, she had indeed forgotten him. She was only a child after all. But seeing him again, seeing him watching her, all the memories came flooding back to her at once that made her ache. Aching in a way that made her wish she was still eight. Eight was before her brother's death or her parent's divorce or her many heartbreaks to come. Eight was just eight. Hot dogs and peanut butter, mosquito bites and splinters, bikes and boogie boards. Tangled hair, sunburned shoulders, always in bed by nine thirty.
Her mind then drifted to her fiancé. What would she tell him? They were to be married in a week. She absentmindedly fiddled with the engagement ring on her finger.
** DARYL **
Daryl was sat at his breakfast table, picking at the food on his plate that Merle had cooked. He felt the girls absence for the first time in twenty years, and it was already ruining his breakfast. The image of Beth refused to leave his mind, until his brother spoke.
"Tha' girl still on yer mind, baby brother?" Merle asked, in an unusually friendly tone.
"Listen Merle, I ain' got time fer ya shi-"
"Darylina! Can't a man jus' have a heart-to-heart with his brother once in a while?" Merle protested, a smile playing on his lips. Daryl shook his head and smirked.
"Yea, Merle. I never thought I'd see her 'gain, an' after las' night, after you dragged my ass outta bed, she ain' left my mind," Daryl admitted, feeling almost embarrassed.
Merle tapped Daryl on the shoulder and stood up, opening their front door. "C'mon, baby brother, we're off 'fer a walk."
They walked for about 10 minutes in a comfortable silence. Merle was happy and Daryl was feeling rather content with his brother. Merle had been a drug addict and an alcoholic, had spent his fair share of time in prison, but as it stood today, he was six years drug and alcohol free. He was still an ass though, Daryl thought, as Merle continued to tease him about the "lil Bo Peep" that Daryl was so completely obsessed about. They spoke a little, made general conversation, as they walked down the empty pathway through the woods towards the abandoned cabin.
"Do you miss her?" Merle blurted out, stopping to stand in front of Daryl.
"Who? Beth? Of course. She was my best friend."
Merle nodded in understanding and looked back at the ground as they resumed walking. The trees dispersed around them as the cabin came into view. Daryl's feet stopped moving, causing Merle to look back.
Daryl felt an ache in his eyes and throat as he looked at the cabin. "I don't know what's happening to me," he said, shaking his head. "I honestly don't."
Merle glanced at him. "You grew up, Daryl," he said, "just like the rest of us. It wasn' yer fault that she never came back, I promise ya that."
Daryl stared at the cabin and began to make his way towards it again. He cautiously pushed the door open as it creaked. The floorboards groaned with age. As he stepped inside, the cabin was exactly how they had left it. Books scattered everywhere, drawings pinned up on the wall; a sofa in the middle of the chaos. Daryl sighed.
"What a mess," Merle smirked, before walking inside and taking his place on the sofa. He patted the space beside him, and Daryl reluctantly sat there. He rested his head on his palms; his elbows on his knees.
"It's jus' how we left it, Merle. Nothin's changed," Daryl whispered, suddenly feeling nostalgic.
"What is going on with you?" Merle said, shaking his head and shoving Daryl's shoulder lightly. "What's up with all the love an' affection? I mean, you of all people!"
Daryl lifted his head and looked at his brother. Damn, his brother could be an ass at the wrong times. But his brother simply smiled at him and shook his hand, dismissing whatever just happened.
Silence filled the cabin for a long time. The brothers sat silenced by their thoughts. Finally, Merle spoke up.
"She made you decent, and in return you made her happy." He stated simply. He nodded to himself, understanding his brother's emotions at the current situation. "But then she stopped comin', right?"
That part hurt. Daryl's heart broke all over again and he couldn't stand thinking back to all the days and nights he sat in the cabin, alone, awaiting Beth to fulfil her promise to see him again. This image made Daryl remember what she had done the last time he saw her.
"Here," she said, holding out a small yellow music box. "It's my mommas, she gave it to me. I think you should have it."
"Beth, I can' take this, it's yers," he replied, shaking his head.
"Please," she pressed on, until he gave in and took the music box from her hands. He opened it up and was presented with a small blonde ballerina. He wound the dial a few times until he was satisfied, and then let go. The winder began to reverse itself as the tune played and the ballerina began to turn graciously. It was beautiful. It all reminded him of his own mother.
"Thank ya, Beth. It's beautiful." He waited until the tune finished and he shut the lid. He slid the box under the sofa and pulled Beth in for a hug. They smiled.
Daryl reached under the sofa and felt around, his fingers making contact with what he was looking for. He pulled the box out from underneath him and placed it in his lap. It had rusted and gathered a lot of dust, but it still looked beautiful to him. He opened the lid and began to wind up the box. He stopped winding and looked at the ballerina, but she didn't turn. No music played. He sighed and shut the lid.
He looked up at Merle who was watching him. Surprise found Daryl when he noticed a tear fall out of Merle's eye. He'd never seen any display of emotion as deep as this on his brother, but it caused his eyes to pool with tears of his own. They began to silently cry together. Cry for their deceased mother. Cry for their childhood. Cry for Beth.
"God, we're fucked up, aren't we?" Merle laughed softly, running his hands over his face. Daryl's tight features loosened a little. "Hey, don' worry Darylina. Lil Ms Greene will pop up 'gain someday, an' yer gonna run to her an' claim her. Ya got me?"
Daryl simply chuckled and nodded. He was glad that his brother understood his pain. He certainly couldn't deny his appreciation for Merle in this moment. He couldn't imagine how he'd be coping right now if his brother was still an addict. He admired his determination to come clean for the sake of his brother.
Merle was left with his thoughts alongside Daryl's silence. There was a little boy inside the man who was his brother in that moment. Oh, how he hated that boy. And how he loved him too.
"Merle, what am I supposed to do?" Daryl grunted, fighting a battle with his heart and head.
"With people like that, no matter how long you've been apart, sometimes when you reconnect, it's just time hittin' un-pause. It's up to you, baby brother. Whatever feels right." Merle stood and nodded to his brother before leaving the cabin, giving Daryl the space he needed.
As he left and began to head back into the forest, he was completely unaware of the blonde girl hiding amongst the trees.
A/N: Oooooo! Things are gonna get juicy! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know that Daryl and Merle are rather OOC and a bit soppy, but I just wanna get across all that "brotherly love" shit. Anyway, Daryl's still gonna be his gruff self and Merle is still gonna be an ass, don't worry.