Bethyl Week Day 2: Red
Beth flinched in pain as Daryl tapped her shoulder and indicated the walker approaching them through the trees. She nodded to show that she saw it too and pulled the hunting knife out of its sheath. Shaking her head slightly she tried to ignore the insentient burning pain of her skin. It felt as though her entire body had just gone through a furnace.
Knife ready in hand Beth was just about to lunge forward and put the walker down when Daryl let a cross-bolt fly. It landed with a sickening thunk that still made her flinch. She sheathed the knife slowly, scanning the area around them to see if the walker had any friends within proximity.
Daryl walked ahead of her and pulled the arrow out without so much as a blink as it excited the corpse's head. Beth herself shivered at the sight.
He motioned for her to follow after her and she did silently which seemed to be how she did much of anything these days. As she walked she tried to adjust the straps of her shirt into a position that did not cause her to flinch in pain.
Daryl glanced back at her in irritation before he noticed her silent struggles.
"What's the hold up?" he grunted at her. Beth looked up at him in surprise at the interruption, that had to be the longest string of words he had said to her since they had passed through the prison gates. The shock of him taking the time to speak to her for the first time in what had to be a week caused her to answer honestly.
"Sunburn." she blushed at the fact that she was complaining about something so mundane after everything they had just seen happen to their family, their home. Beth shook her head as if she was trying to deny the word she had just said. "Its okay. I'm just a bit pink."
For a moment Daryl simply stared at her before he sighed and stepped back over a tree root to lean in close to her, peering down at the skin of her chest. "Pink?" Daryl snorted as he turned back around seeming to take a moment to catch his bearings. "Greene learn your colors. That is red."
Beth blushed deeper, the added heat to her face making her shift uncomfortably. "Its nothing. Really." she pushed past Daryl to keep them on their way to nowhere as they tried to find their friends on a trail long since cold. "We should keep going."
Daryl suddenly grabbed her arm, albeit in a much looser grip this time.
"This way." he said no more to her as he changed their direction, seemingly at will. Beth followed after him with a glum sigh not sure of how much longer she could take of the tension between them.
They walked in silence for what felt like hours, although Beth was not the best judge of time these days. Finally, just as she was opening her mouth to ask him where they were going they stumbled out of the treeline and onto the back lot of a small gas station. Daryl held his crossbow up and ready as Beth pulled her knife out as her muscles began to tense in anticipation.
There were only two walkers in the lot, both of whom were disposed of quickly. Beth eased the door, hanging only by one hinge, open slowly as Daryl waited outside of it with his bow. Nothing came out so he quickly went inside motioning for her to come in after him.
Beth ducked inside the dim and grimy interior, grimacing as she stepped onto a thick layer of trash and leaves that seemed to have blown in through the broken door. She headed immediately towards the small aisles to look for supplies, hopefully food, and listened as Daryl headed down the aisles quickly, the trash crumpling under his feet.
Managing to scrounge up a few things that still looked edible Beth nearly jumped in surprise when she straightened up and saw Daryl standing before her. A flash of momentary guilt passed over his face before he thrust out his arm and a small bottle full of blue gel at her.
"Might help." he shrugged before turning away to scan the other aisles.
Beth turned the bottle in her hands in surprise that quickly turned to gratitude at the familiar label of Aloe Vera. Quickly she placed her items on the empty shelf next to her and unscrewed the cap. The scent hit her nose, much more pungent than she remembered it, but as she began to smear it on her skin she did not care at all about the smell. The insistent burn of her skin seemed to ebb and, despite the sickening look of the gel mixing with the dirt on her body, she felt almost instantly better.
Daryl continued to scavenge the store as she all but bathed in the gel. She could not seem to reach the burning spot on her upper back but she kept twisting her arms behind her in determination.
A hand suddenly lay flat against her shoulder and Beth looked behind her to see Daryl reach forwards to grab the bottle from her hands. Swallowing hard Beth faced the front again as he lay his palm against her back and began to rub the gel into the spot she just could not reach. Her heart began to beat faster at the contact, of actual human contact, as it suddenly dawned on her exactly how close together they were.
Beth's mind began to toy with her then, showing her images of all the things that might happen if she were to turn around to face Daryl at that moment. If she were to be so bold as to press a kiss against his mouth. Her heart began to beat even faster at that and Beth wondered idly if he could hear it. She knew it was a foolish idea but it had been so long since she had had the comfort of another person's touch.
Just as she was seriously considering turning around a growling sound came from outside. Daryl shoved the open bottle into her hands before grabbing one of the bags of their new supplies. Beth grabbed the other and followed him quickly out of the back door knowing full well that her heart was not pounding like this out of fear.