.:Raelyn | Age 13:.

"I can't believe I'm actually goin' inside yer house." I said to Daryl from the passenger seat of his new truck.

Well, really it was an old truck; The paint was faded, the radio was ripped out, and there were all kinds of tears and stains in the tan leather bench seat. But, it was new to Daryl. He bought it from his older brother three months ago on his 18th birthday, and ever since then we'd been drivin' all over the damn place.

Today, he'd picked me up after school, like he'd been doin' for the past few weeks. Daryl was in his senior year of high school now, so he was makin' an even bigger habit of skippin' class than the years before. Didn't matter to me, though, 'cause a lot of times he'd fit me into his plan to play hookie. Just last week, he even called my middle school and pretended to be an uncle of mine, sayin' I was "sick" just 'cause goin' fishin' with him sounded a lot better to me than sittin' in stuffy classrooms all day.

"Yea," Daryl grumbled as he paused to take a long drag off his cigarette before flickin' the ashes out the open driver's side window, "Well its only 'cause my old man ain't home, so don't get too accustomed to it, okay?"

"I know, I know." I replied as we stopped at a red light in town, eyein' the burnin' cigarette between his fingers, "Hey, gimme a hit of that."

Daryl instantly turned his head to the side with one of his eyebrows raised, like I'd just asked him to help me rob a bank. "Uh-uh. No way."

My blonde eyebrows scrunched together as the light turned green, and he turned his attention back to the road, shakin' his head as he pressed on the gas.

"Why not?" I demanded as I folded my arms over my chest, the wind rushin' inside the cab from the open windows whippin' my ponytail off my shoulders.

"'Cause I ain't gettin' you started on cigarettes." Daryl muttered back to me in a flat tone, as if that was the end of the discussion.

I rolled my green eyes. He shoulda known me better.

"C'mon, Dare." I urged my best friend in a persuadin' way, reachin' my arm across the cab and tryin' to grab his cigarette. "Just one puff, I wanna try it!"

Daryl quickly yanked his arm away, glarin' my way while simultaneously keepin' an eye on the road in front of us. "Girl, are you crazy?! I'm drivin', don't be reachin' over here all in my space an' shit."

"I wouldn't hafta reach if you'd just give it." I pointed out as I snatched for the cigarette again, yelpin' as the ember singed the soft skin of my finger tip.

Daryl's eyes widened for a second, but when he realized I was okay, he got all flustered. He tossed the half burnt cigarette out the window, turnin' to me in a huff as we pulled up to yet another red light.

"See what ya did?" He snapped at me, "Ya went an' burned yerself, stupid. Why can't ya just listen, Rae?"

Once again, I leaned against the doorframe and rolled my eyes as Daryl tried to lecture me, like he'd done a million times before. I never really took him seriously though, I just couldn't for some reason.

"I ain't dyin'." I said to my friend in a smart-ass tone, and the light turned green again. Daryl let out a frustrated sigh, turnin' his agitated eyes back out the windshield as he accelerated with traffic.

"That ain't the point, Raelyn." He grumbled, leanin' his elbow on the worn out door panel and chewin' on his thumb nail like he always did when he drove, "Yer so stubborn, ya need to learn what the word no means."

"Yea, yea." I half heartedly replied, havin' heard these kinda cranky lectures from him for six years now. He always tried to act like the wiser one since he was a little older, and most of the time I just played along. Sometimes, though, we did disagree enough to argue, but this wasn't one of those times.

As Daryl kept ramblin' on about me an' my attitude problems (Like he had any room to talk...) I slowly snuck my hand across the bench seat, creepin' my fingers toward his pack of smokes restin' up against his leg, along with his lighter.

I was quick to snatch both, flippin' the top of the cigarette pack open and pluckin' one of 'em out. The second I clamped the cigarette between my lips and sparked the lighter, Daryl turned his eyes to me, stoppin' him mid sentence.

"Hey!" He barked, glancin' down next to his leg where his pack of cigarettes were missin', and now sittin' in my lap. "You little sneak!"

I giggled, and smoke leaked from my lips in hazy clouds. I scrunched my nose up at the ashy taste, and coughed just a little bit. "These are pretty nasty."

"Good, now put it out." Daryl said as he motioned toward his truck's ash tray, but I shook my head as I slid the pack and the lighter back across the bench seat toward him.

"Nah." I replied simply as I grinned a little and took a long drag, lettin' the smoke slowly leave my lungs, "I lit it already, so might as well just smoke it. I think I'm already used to it."

For a second, Daryl just watched me puff on the cigarette. Finally, he sighed and shook his head, givin' up on tryin' to break me of my stubborn ways. "You are somethin' else, kid."

I shrugged my shoulders, holdin' my cigarette out the window and flickin' the ashes off the end, already feelin' the habit settin' in fast. "I know."

He was tryin' so hard to hide it, but as I glanced over at Daryl in the driver's seat, I could see the slightest hint of an amused grin on his face.

I smiled to myself, knowin' he could never stay mad at me for long, and that's why we were best friends.

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My stomach fluttered as Daryl steered the truck down Thomas Rd, growin' closer and closer to his house by the second. There was just one more hill before the old blue house would come into view out in the middle of the field, and it was a steep one.

I caught Daryl's eyes as he glanced across the cab at me, and there was a mischievous glint to 'em. I grinned, knowin' what he was thinkin', and nodded me head to show that I was thinkin' the same thing.

The engine roared as Daryl slammed his foot on the gas, and I let out an excited laugh as my body was tossed back into the seat. We raced up the hill so fast, it felt like my stomach had been left on the road behind us. The tires barely clung to the pavement as the truck sailed over the hill, flyin' back down on the other side. Daryl let off the gas as we came around the bend, lettin' the truck slow down some.

"That never gets old." He chuckled to me, his eyes twinklin' at the sound of the powerful engine whirrin' and buzzin'.

I was lost in a fit of giggles, feelin' like I had just come down off the first drop of a roller coaster. "When are you gonna teach me to drive, Daryl?"

My best friend shrugged his shoulders, steerin' the truck to the left as we approached his driveway. I could see his blue house out in the field through the trees, and my heartbeat quickened, "I dunno. One'a these days."

The sound of the gravel driveway crumplin' beneath the tires of Daryl's truck filled my ears, and I chewed my bottom lip as I watched the house grow closer and closer. Pretty soon, we were parked in front of the garage, and Daryl had killed the engine.

"Here we are," He grumbled as he grabbed his keys and camo print backpack, slingin' it over his shoulder and poppin' his door open, "Home Sweet home..."

As I grabbed my own plain purple backpack and jarred open the passenger side door, I kept an eye on the front porch. The porch light above the front door cast an eerie lookin' yellow glow over the entire porch, and it was always on. At night, it was really creepy lookin', but I tried not to think about that as we walked across the creaky wooden floorboards.

Daryl fiddled with the keys in his hands, finally graspin' the right one in his fingers as we reached the door. In one quick motion, he shoved the key into the lock, gave it a twist, and popped the door open. Instantly, the smell of stale cigarette smoke hit my nose. I was used to that, though, because my Aunt Laura was a heavy smoker. She always smoked in the house.

The first room we walked into from the front door was the family room. When Daryl clicked on the dim lamp in the corner, I could see the dingy, stained carpet, the old worn out furniture and the outdated TV in the corner. From behind me, I could hear the sound of rustlin', and drawers openin'.

I turned around to look at Daryl, and saw him rushin' around the wooden coffee table stained in water rings, most likely left from beer cans. He had a few different plastic baggies gripped in his hands, and as he stuffed them in the drawers of one of the mismatched end tables, I could see the green, grassy contents of one bag, and the other bag had somethin' in it that looked like powdered sugar... I knew they were drugs, I wasn't stupid... It was just weird seein' in right in front of me.

"What are you doin'?" I asked Daryl curiously as he shut the drawers and hid the bags away, "You don't gotta hide shit from me. It ain't like I don't know about that stuff."

Daryl rolled his eyes and continued leadin' me down a dark hall way with two doors on each side. "Yea, well it don't mean it should be layin' out all over the house. My dad and my brother are idiots, they're the ones that do the shit."

I followed him down the hall, to the last door on the right, and watched as he reached up above the door frame and revealed a tiny gold key. "Gotta keep my door locked around here if I want all my shit to stay in tact..."

"You don't do any of those drugs?" I asked curiously as Daryl jiggled the key into the lock on his door, and I heard him let out a sigh.

"I smoked a little weed with Merle b'fore, but I don't make a habit of it." He replied as he pushed the door open, and all of a sudden I was standin' in a space that just screamed Daryl.

The walls were painted a dark forest green, and by the way some of the paint was smudged on the ceiling and over the light switch, I knew he'd painted it himself. There were posters that showed people dressed in camo huntin' gear, holdin' guns and stalkin' deer or turkeys, along with some posters of random rock bands he listened to. His curtains and bedspread were camo print, too. There was a tiny box TV with bunny ears on it sittin' on his dresser, and there were clothes layin' all over the floor.

"This is pretty much exactly what I thought your room would look like." I observed as I strolled into the room and plopped down on the bed, lettin' my backpack fall onto the floor. "Less messy though, honestly."

Daryl made an impressed face and nodded his head slightly, as if he approved of my comment, "Ya don't think this is messy?" He picked up a clump of t-shirts and tossed them into a growing pile in his closet, nudgin' the door shut with his foot before it could all topple out again.

"A little," I admitted as I observed the ash tray on his bedside table, stuffed almost full with cigarette butts, "But not as bad as I imagined."

"Well I'll take that as a compliment." My best friend said as I let out a sigh and flopped down on the bed beside me, "Man, I'm beat."

"From what?" I asked as I scrunched up my eyebrows, knowin' he'd skipped school today, "Sleepin' all day and drivin' to come get me?"

Daryl shot me a glare, his pale blue eyes piercin' my green ones and sendin' a shiver up my spine, "Shut up."

I giggled and stood up off his bed, bein' nosey and lookin' all around his room.

"So, ya seen my house now." Daryl huffed as he sat up and watched me snoop around, "It ain't nothin' special, right? Just like I told ya. Now what do you wanna do?"

I shrugged my shoulders, but before I could suggest anything, we both caught the sound of a loud motor rollin' up into the driveway. I looked to Daryl, who's eyes widened and he immediately jumped up and darted to the window, pullin' the curtains back and peerin' outside through the smudged up glass.

"Aw, shit..." Daryl hissed, his face scrunchin' into a frown.

"What?" I asked, whisperin' even though no one else was in the house but us. Well, not yet, at least. "Who's here?"

Daryl sighed, glancin' over to me with a frustrated expression, "My brother."

"So?" I said to him, my voice puzzled.

"He ain't exactly the nicest person." Daryl replied, walkin' away from the window and runnin' his hand through his shaggy brown hair, "Wasn't really plannin' on introducin' ya to 'im yet."

I moved over to where Daryl had been satndin' and peered out the window just in time to see the front door shut, and miss his brother completely. In the driveway, a sleek black motorcycle was parked right next to Daryl's truck.

After a few seconds, I could hear footsteps thumpin' through the house, and a voice callin' out for Daryl.

"Hey, Dare Bear!" The voice hollered in the hallway, deep and raspy, gettin' closer and closer to the door that Daryl was jumpin' up to block, "You got a cigarette fer yer big brother?!"

"Nah, Merle, I ain't go no cigarettes!" Daryl shouted through the door as he leaned against it with his shoulder, holdin' it closed as his brother jiggled the knob from the other side, "Go away!"

"Fuckin' liar, I know you always got cigarettes, quit holdin' out on me b'fore I gotta come in there an' knock yer teeth in!" Merle's voice grumbled from the other side as the door started wigglin' open.

"Merle!" Daryl grunted as he leaned harder into the door, his feet startin' to slide a little on the floor, "I said GIT OUTTA HERE!"

"The hell are you doin' in there, anyway?" Merle taunted as he finally pushed the door open, sending Daryl stumblin' across the room, crashin' into his dresser, "Jerkin' yer dick or somethin'?"

Instantly, Merle, a young man the was a little taller than Daryl but built much stalkier, barreled into the room and trapped Daryl in a headlock.

"Gimme them smokes, boy," He grumbled as he shoved his hand into Daryl's pocket, all the while his little brother grunted and fought to break free but with no good results. Finally, he ripped the cardboard pack free, then threw Daryl to the ground so he could pull a cigarette out.

While he was focused on the cigarettes, I studied his appearance... It was clear he was quite a bit older than me, I remembered Daryl sayin' he was 26 or 27. His hair was a little lighter than Daryl's, almost blonde, and it was in a buzzcut style, real close to his head. His eyes were the same piercin' blue as Daryl's, and they already had wrinkles around 'em, even though he was still pretty young.

"You fuckin' asshole..." Daryl grumbled as he scrambled back up to his feet, watchin' as Merle lit his cigarette, then noticed me sittin' there on the bed, just starin'.

He blinked his blue eyes at me before an evil grin curved his lips around the cigarette. He let out a puff of smoke, then chuckled, "Ahh, I see what you were doin' in here. My baby brother finally becomin' a man, huh? That one looks a little young fer ya-"

"Man, shut the hell up!" Daryl fiercely snapped, "Ain't nothin' like that, she's just my friend. Ya got yer cigarette, now go on, git."

He tried to shove Merle out the door, but his brother just shoved back harder, and Daryl stumbled backwards and shot him an icey glare. Merle took a drag off his cigarette, shovin' his free hand in the pocket of his jeans as he strolled closer to me.

"Ah, I see, this is that little girl you're always runnin' around with." He observed in his swampy accent, lookin' me up and down as he let the smoke out with his words, "What's yer name, sweetheart?"

"Leave 'er alone, Merle." Daryl growled protectively, but I gave him a look. I always told him he didn't need to protect me, I could take care of myself. But of course, he never listened.

"I'm Raelyn." I replied to Merle, and his smirked grow into a grin.

"That's a purty name ya got." He said to me, the sweetness in his voice so fake and forced, I could puke. "Whatcha doin' hangin' around with my dopey baby brother, anyhow? Why dontcha come fer a ride on ol' Merle's motorcycle-"

"She ain't interested in ya Merle," Daryl snapped again, steppin' in between the two of us and pushin' his brother back slightly, "She's thirteen. Go on, git yer self another one'a them bar rats ya like so much."

Merle took another drag off his cigarette, narrowin' his eyes at Daryl before blowin' the smoke out straight into his face. My best friend clenched his fists and looked like he wanted to pound Merle's teeth into the back of his throat, but he controlled himself.

"All right, Dare Bear, I'll give you two yer alone time." Merle cooed sarcastically, givin' me a wink before walkin' out the door, allowin' Daryl to slam it behind him, givin' him a chance to twist the lock this time.

He sighed and leaned his back into the door, peerin' at me from across the room, "So... That was Merle. See why I didn't really want ya meetin' 'im?"

I smirked at my best friend, leanin' back on my elbows and starin' up at a poster of a girl in a bikini taped to the ceilin'.

"He wasn't so bad." Then, I glanced over at my friend and said, "Wanna go fishin'?"

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.:Raelyn | 27 *Present*:.

"Daryl!" I called out to that stubborn redneck as I briskly followed him through the trees, past the main group of tents, "Hey! Dixon! God dammit, stop walkin'!"

He just kept goin' though, power walkin' through the brush, ignorin' me on purpose and lettin' the thin tree branches snap back towards me as we approached a lone green tent, which I knew was his. He'd always preferred his space, and I guess the apocalypse didn't really change that about him. If anything, it probably made it worse.

"I know you hear me talkin' to ya," I grumbled out as he hastfully unzipped the door to his tent, "HEY!"

Daryl tried to zip it back up after him, but I barged right in before he could do it. By the look in his eyes, I caught him off guard, but he quickly put that stone cold front right back up, and turned his back on me. He kneeled down next to his backpack and started stuffin' supplies inside and gatherin' ammo for his emergency handgun.

I waited a few seconds for him to say somethin' to me, knowin' that he wasn't gonna. He was too stubborn. So, I spoke up in the tense quiet of the tent, "What the hell, Daryl?! Why are you ignorin' me?!"

"You plannin' on followin' me around naggin' me all day long?" He growled back at me, not botherin' to even spare me a glance as he stood up and pushed past me, stuffin' some water bottles into his backpack, "Save it."

"I ain't naggin' ya," I fought back, tryin' to get him to look at me but he just wouldn't, "This is how it's gonna be, I search and search for ya fer weeks, I fight mother fuckin' ZOMBIES, sick with worry for you guys, then I finally find ya by some crazy coincidence... And all of the sudden, you hate my guts? What the fuck, Dare?!"

He shot me such a horrible, mean look, his voice dark and sinister, I felt like I could either break down and cry, or haul off and punch him right in the mouth. "Just stay outta my way, Raelyn. All right? I'm goin' to get my brother-"

"Yea, and I'm goin' with ya." I countered as I blocked his way outta the tent, "Merle's yer brother, Daryl, but he's MY friend, too-"

"Oh, really?" He hissed at me, narrowin' his eyes and takin' a step toward me, peerin' down into my equally as fierce green eyes, "He's yer friend, huh? That why ya let that pig handcuff him a fuckin' roof? That somethin' that friends do? How long ya been runnin' with that cop, huh, Rae? Ya got a thing goin' with 'im or somethin'?"

I recoiled a little, completely offended by his barrage of irrational questions. He was talkin' to me like I was a complete stranger, like we hadn't been best friends for over ten years. But I wasn't backin' down from him. This wasn't the first time Daryl and I had a knock down drag out argument, and I definitely knew how to hold my own against him, "Are you fuckin' kiddin' me, Daryl? Are you really gonna accuse me of somethin' like that?! I just met the guy, just like you!"

Daryl scoffed at me, smirkin' in frustrated amusement as he shook his head and turned his gaze to the side, away from me, as if everything I was sayin' was complete bullshit. "Whatever, Rae. I don't care what ya been doin' or who ya been with. All I'm focused on is goin' to that city and gettin' Merle back, and I don't think you need to be taggin' along."

"What makes you think you can tell me what I can and can't do?" I asked him, narrowin' my eyes, which made Daryl snap his gaze back to me. "Merle's just as important to me as he is to you-"

"Bullshit!" I flinched as Daryl raised his voice, and backed away from him just slightly, "Yer half the reason he's stranded out there with all them flesh munchin' geeks!"

"Weren't you listenin' to anything anyone was tellin' ya out there?!" I groaned, anxiously rakin' my fingers through my hair, "Merle was-"

"I don't give a god damn!" He shouted, his face red with anger, "Ya know Rae, when you went missin', we looked for ya. We really did, fer weeks. It was hard to get used to ya not bein' here, but I did. And now..."

His voice trailed off, and a mixture of emotions flashed through his eyes as he struggled for the words he needed. As quick as the emotions flashed through, thought, they disappeared again and left just a flat, emotionless stare in their place. "Now... Man, it was just easier with ya gone!"

That one hurt... Felt like a stab to the heart with a cold ice pick, and he must've seen it in my eyes, but I didn't care. He didn't seem to care, either, because he just kept on goin'.

"All I had to do was focus on me. Me an' Merle, survivin'..." He shook his head slowly as he stared at me, "But then, you show up at camp with officer friendly out there, and Merle gets left behind in Atlanta... I dunno, man. I just got too much to lose. I just... I just wish you wouldn't have found me."

The silence followin' Daryl's sentence was thick, and I found myself fightin' back the angry tears that were brimmin' in my eyes... I swallowed hard, takin' a deep, shaky breath and regained my composure, quickly wipin' the moisture from my eyes with the back of my hand and straightenin' up.

"So, what about that day, right before all this bullshit," I mumbled, tryin' to hide the tremble in my voice, "The day we were at yer apartment-"

"I was drunk, Rae." He fiercely cut me off, "Don't be stupid..."

My shoulders sagged as I stared at Daryl in disbelief, slowly shakin' my head and takin' a step toward him, "Who the hell are you, Dare...? What happened to my best friend...?"

He backed away from me, keepin' his blue eyes sharp and serious, but not allowin' me to touch him. "The world ended a long time ago, Raelyn. That includes our world... It just don't exist no more. Best thing fer us to do is start over..."

I had no words left, only anger and hurt festerin' deep in the back of my mind and radiatin' through my veins. My throat clenched and formed a lump that I couldn't swallow, no matter how hard I tried, and before I knew it my vision was foggin' up with tears again. I stared at the ground to hide my tear-streaked cheeks, roughly pushin' past Daryl, but stoppin' to turn and stare him down.

"If that's the way you want it, Daryl Dixon, then fine. Consider us strangers." I mumbled to him, "But I'm goin' back to that city, and I'm gonna help bring Merle back. Then I'll be on my way... Don't worry, I won't ever bother ya again."

I half expected him to call out to me as I stormed off through the trees, to change his mind and tell me he didn't mean what he said... But there was nothin' but the sound of birds chirpin' and my shoes thuddin' against the grassy forest floor.

At this point, I was sobbin', and the tears were streamin' down my face. They dripped from my chin and slid down my collar bone, and I didn't even bother to wipe 'em away... I just didn't care enough.

I couldn't believe this was really happening... My best friend, the person I'd spent three miserable months searching for, wanted nothing to do with me.

My heart was broken, and I wondered what my fate would be after all this bullshit to save Merle back in Atlanta...

At this point, though, I didn't give a damn what happened to me. I just wanted this all to be over...

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To be continued...