Thursday morning was a rush. Beth decided to skip her afternoon class since there was no way she could make it home in time, and they never marked attendance in that class anyway. If she needed to, she'd listen to the lecture recording later. She had an early class and as soon as it finished she ran all the way to the train station, only just making the early train.
Beth was almost on autopilot. She had made a mental list of everything she needed to do before Daryl picked her up, and she was determined to get it done. She wanted at least one of her readings done on the way home, and was so absorbed in her textbook she nearly missed her stop. The day was quite warm; the bus wasn't air-conditioned and she sat in her dress sticking to the seat with her nose wrinkled, eyes narrowed as she kept reading.
Shawn picked her up at the bus stop, and she got into the car, her textbook in one hand and her dress immediately clinging to the worn leather seat. Shawn sat in the driver's seat, wearing an old wife-beater and trying hard to be cool.
"Could you be anymore of a bookworm?"
"Shh I'm nearly done!" Beth waved her hand at her brother, eyes wide as she stared at the textbook.
They drove past the familiar fields, Shawn speeding a little as he smirked at his younger sister's feverish reading.
"C'mon Bethy, we're gonna get home and you ain't gonna be finished!"
"Shut up!" Beth waved her arm at him again.
They approached their driveway and Beth snapped the book shut with a triumphant smile.
"Ha, done!"
"Do you remember any of it?" Shawn asked, arching an eyebrow as he pulled up in front of the gate.
Beth thought for a second. "Not really." She shrugged as she got out of the car to open the gate. As she walked back to the car she could see Shawn shaking his head.
"What's your rush anyway?" He asked her once she'd shut the car door.
Beth hesitated. "Um, well I gotta go look at a car this afternoon, so I wanna get some stuff done."
Shawn raised his eyebrows, but just nodded slowly. Any inference of the why behind their new lives tended to sober them.
Shawn parked the car under the tree in front of their house, and turned to Beth with a serious expression on his face.
"I can take you to look at the car you know," he said, turning the engine off.
Beth hesitated again, and it seemed that was answer enough for Shawn.
"All right, forget it. But you shouldn't be hanging around him." He shook his head as he opened the door, slamming it shut.
Beth exhaled, suppressing the hurt she felt. If she even tried to put into words what Daryl was really like, Beth had a feeling Shawn would go crazy. The Dixon's were trash, always had been, always will be. That might as well have been the town's motto. She wondered if this was even a taste of what it was like to be Daryl Dixon, judged by everyone on your reputation without even having to do anything. She had to remind herself though that he had been known to be involved in the brawls that occasionally happened up at the bar, and the stories never seemed bode well for his opponents.
She watched Shawn stalk inside the house, his shoulders tense. She sighed, squaring her shoulders and grabbed her bag before following him inside. She had to finish her list.
Beth cleaned the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms, put a load of washing on and washed the dishes. While she was waiting for the clothes to finish she swept the floor and dusted everything downstairs, before the machine finished and she hung the clothes out on the line. There was a cool breeze coming through now which made the afternoon much more pleasant.
She left instructions on the kitchen counter to heat up one of the casseroles in the fridge. Once she'd finished everything, she showered and changed into her jeans and an old t-shirt, grabbing a jacket to wear on the bike. This time she felt better prepared for the ride. Beth felt a humming of energy whenever she thought about going on the bike again with Daryl.
.
Beth had messaged Daryl that it was fine to drive up to the house, and when it came to 5 pm she was starting to regret that. Hershel sat on the veranda, patiently waiting for him to arrive while she stood inside at the kitchen counter listening for the roar of the bike. The house was silent now as Shawn had gone out…probably went to hang out with Austin, Vanessa's older brother. The seconds ticked by slowly, as Beth stood listening. The clock in the hall seemed to get louder and louder, as the seconds seemed to stretch into what felt like hours.
She bit her lip as doubt started to creep into her mind. Maybe he'd forgotten? She had only messaged him last night, and true to form he hadn't messaged back. That was nothing new.
Beth fished her phone out of her pocket. 5:15 pm. Fifteen minutes. That was all, not really late yet.
By half past five Beth was sitting outside next to her father. They sat in silence, and Hershel shortly went inside to make a cup of coffee. She didn't miss his tone, like he doubted he'd show up.
No sooner had the door shut behind her father than did Beth feel her phone vibrate in her pocket.
At the gate
Beth frowned, but stood up quickly, slipping her phone back in her pocket. She ran inside to tell her father he was here, and upon seeing him put the milk down on the counter she hurriedly explained that Daryl was at the gate.
"Gotta go, love ya," she smiled at her father as she kissed him on the cheek. He barely had time to smile back before Beth rushed outside, pulling her jacket on. She was a little disappointed that Daryl hadn't come up to the house, but supposed she should have known better. What did she expect? Him to ride up to the house, get off his bike, apologise profusely for his lateness and make nice with her father? She huffed as she walked along the dirt track.
Beth spotted Daryl just beyond the gate. He was wearing his leather jacket, dirty dark jeans with boots. He was already getting back on the motorcycle, the spare helmet in his hands. She smiled at him as she approached the bike, and he held the helmet out to her. Her smile faltered as he didn't even open his visor, but she recovered quickly, hiding her apprehension. He had seemed a little distant at the shop the other day, but Beth had played it down to it being a while since they'd last spoken.
Beth put the helmet on and put her hand on his shoulder, using him for leverage to swing her leg over the bike. She felt an explosion of butterflies in her stomach, contrasting wildly to the hard, solid body she was now pressed against. The roar of the engine only served to whip the butterflies into a frenzy, and she gripped Daryl tightly as they sped off.
.
The fading sunlight streamed through the trees, patchy across the road and Beth's eyes flickered as she stared out at the scenery, feeling her hair whip around her. Daryl handled the road skilfully, though she could tell he was being quite careful. The drive wasn't as long as the first time, not that that was saying much, and the light faded quickly.
They drove through wide-open roads before they turned into narrow roads enclosed by forest. Beth knew they must have been close when they slowed to a crawl as they approached a mailbox. Daryl revved the engine and they sped up again through the winding road. This area was even more remote than where Beth lived, and the houses were more like cabins that were few and far between.
On either side of the road was dense forest that seemed to lean in on them as they rounded the corners. Eventually they came to a mailbox at the bottom of a hill, a faint light at the top from the front porch of a cabin with a car parked in front. It was pitch black along the road, and Daryl shone a light on his phone at the mailbox, revealing crudely scratched letters spelling out HARRIS. Daryl killed the engine and pushed the kickstand out, pulling off his helmet.
"This is it," he said.
Beth nodded, before realising he couldn't see her and she still had her helmet on. She took off her helmet and passed it to him, before dismounting.
Daryl got off the motorcycle, running a hand through his hair.
"Maybe we should've scheduled it earlier," Beth said as she looked around, peering up at the cabin, as Daryl clipped the helmets on the bike.
"Had shit to do," Daryl said shortly, and Beth realised he thought she was referring to him being late.
"Oh, no I didn't mean…it would have gotten dark then anyway," she shrugged, pulling her jacket around her tighter. This was true, even if he had picked her up at five, it would have gotten dark while they were still out on the way back.
Daryl simply looked up at the cabin and rolled his shoulder. "C'mon," he muttered.
Beth stayed close to him as they ascended the hill, noticing the way he carried himself. He didn't have his usual swagger; here in the night he was walking quietly, his eyes scanning around them. Like a hunter, Beth thought, recalling the quiver of arrows at the shop.
They reached the car, a small, four-door hatchback. Beth stopped as she reached it, surveying the car in the faint light emitting from the porch, her brow furrowed. She looked over to Daryl to see him continue towards the cabin, climbing the steps to the porch. He knocked heavily on the door, before stepping back to glance down at Beth and the car.
The curtains were heavily drawn in the windows, and all was silent around them. There was no smoke emitting from the chimney, although Beth didn't think it was quite cold enough for that.
Beth bit her lip as she looked up at the windows, scanning the cabin for signs of movement. Surely they would have heard the bike approach. After a couple of minutes Daryl knocked again, a bit impatiently, she observed.
Nothing.
Nothing, except Beth's stomach rumbling.
She grimaced as she realised she hadn't eaten since that morning.
"Well, lookey here…ain't you a sweetheart," Beth froze as she heard a voice say from behind her. She turned around slowly, to see an older man around Daryl's age, maybe a bit older, looking her over in a way she was most definitely not comfortable with, gripping an axe. He was large with a beer belly, his wife-beater stretched across it. She caught a strong whiff of alcohol in the air.
She heard footsteps descending the stairs and quickly come up behind her.
"We're here for the car," Daryl said, his voice rough and firm as he moved in front of Beth, blocking her from the man's view, and him from hers. His back was so close to Beth that his jacket brushed against her briefly.
"An' here I'd thought Christmas had come early," the man said with a chuckle.
Daryl's stance was rigid. "Christmas ain't for a while," he said. "This the car?"
"Yeah, this is it," the man said vaguely, and Beth caught a glimpse of him over Daryl's shoulder. He was grinning, and it only got wider as he caught her eye.
"You ain't the guy I talked to on the phone," Daryl stated, not moving from in front of Beth.
"Nah, that's my brother. He ain't here. That your daughter?"
Daryl suddenly moved and Beth raised her hands, touching his jacket, before quickly dropping them as she stepped to follow him, realising the man had started to walk over. The man chuckled.
"Well shit man, how'd you score such a sweet piece of ass? Fuck I would love to-"
"You so much as look at her I'm gonna put you down," Daryl growled.
"Yeah?" The man challenged.
Daryl's stance didn't change, and he didn't seem bothered to reply. Beth held her breath.
There was a thump and suddenly Daryl was moving forward. Beth stepped back in shock as she saw the man coming towards Daryl, who grabbed the man's fist that shot forward. They struggled, before she heard a sickening crack as Daryl punched him. The man was big, but he was slow. Beth spotted the axe on the ground, the man had dropped it. The man stumbled towards Daryl and reached for him before Daryl pushed him away roughly, before he launched himself forward, striking Daryl across the face. Daryl lurched back, but recovered quickly as the man reached for him again. Daryl dodged the punch and elbowed him hard in the face, snapping the man's head back. The man stumbled back, doubling over, clutching his head, which blood was slowly seeping down.
Daryl turned to Beth, his forehead bloody.
"C'mon, we gotta go," he said, his voice thick, as he grabbed her hand and pulled her after him. They ran down the hill towards the bike, Daryl not bothering with the helmets as he mounted the bike, Beth quickly getting on after him. She could barely even process what had just happened. Her heart was pounding and she heard the man yelling, before the engine drowned it out.
They drove for a while, before Daryl pulled over. He wiped his face and then wiped his hands on his jeans, before handing her the spare helmet. In the light of the bike she saw his hand was bloody, and she looked up at his face, which he twisted slightly away from her. He couldn't turn away completely, holding the helmet out, and she had to yell over the engine.
"You need to get that looked at!"
He pushed the helmet at her, forcing her to take it from him, before he put his own helmet on.
"I'm serious, you need it looked at now!" Beth yelled, exasperated. He revved the engine and Beth sat back, refusing to put her helmet on or hold on to him until he agreed.
He revved the engine once more, his head leaning forward slightly until he looked back at her, nodding once. Beth nodded back before quickly putting her helmet on and wrapping her arms around his waist.
Daryl's driving was noticeably less careful, and they raced through the roads with Beth's heart in her throat, it was beating so hard it was almost painful.
Once they were in an area that Beth recognised she felt her heartbeat start to return to normal, but it continued to pound in her chest. They passed the road that would take them to Beth's house, and she realised where he was taking her. His house.
.
They drove up into the forest, where the houses became even fewer and fewer into a sparsely populated area. Beth was wondering how far away he lived, or if he was indeed taking her to his home, when they pulled into a dirt track, between the trees. It was pitch black but for the light from the motorcycle, and Daryl manoeuvred through the trees like he'd done it a million times, following a worn path.
Beth saw the cabin loom in the darkness before the light hit it, and shivered. The temperature had dropped remarkably. She got off the bike, pulling her helmet off as soon as her feet hit the ground. She watched Daryl dismount, chucking his helmet on to the ground next to it. He stalked towards the cabin, almost angrily, without checking if Beth was following. She placed her helmet gingerly on the ground next to his, and hurried after him.
He unlocked the door, and switched the light on, revealing a small and sparse living room and kitchen. There was a door to the immediate left when you entered the cabin, and Beth assumed that was the bedroom. It was sparsely furnished, and the furniture that was there looked old and worn. She stepped further into the room and saw another door at the end of the room.
"First aid kit?" She asked him, looking around.
"Bathroom," he grunted, waving his hand towards the door at the end of the room.
Beth walked purposely towards the door, opening it quickly and feeling for the light switch. She couldn't feel or see one and looked around confused.
"Pull the string," she heard him say. She raised her hand as she looked up and felt a string, gripped it and pulled down. The light flickered on and she squeezed in to the room. There was only a small shower, toilet and basin. Beth opened the cabinet above the basin and found a decent sized first aid kit. She grabbed it and turned to go back into the living room when Daryl appeared in the doorway. He sighed as he saw she had the kit and turned around, and they both walked back into the living room.
He sat down heavily on the worn couch. The blood was smeared across his face, particularly around his forehead. He leaned his head back and shut his eyes. Beth put the kit down and looked down at her hands, realising she needed to wash them. She quickly went back in the bathroom, washing them thoroughly with soap and using the toilet paper to wipe them dry, as she couldn't see any towel around except the large one hung on the back of the door.
When she stepped back into the room his eyes were still shut. Beth thought fast. She'd never had to clean a wound before, and she wasn't sure how serious it was. She walked over to the couch and leaned over him, reaching out slowly to touch his forehead. He jerked back, the back of his head hitting the wall behind him as her fingers lightly touched his forehead.
She recoiled, her wide eyes connecting with his as he glared at her before he quickly dropped them.
"I'm just checking how bad it is," she said softly, waiting for his response before she moved again. He clenched his jaw before he nodded tightly.
She smoothed his hair back, and saw a long scratch running along his hairline. His hair wasn't long in the front, and it looked as though the man had taken a layer of skin off Daryl in their struggle. It wasn't too deep though, and she withdrew her hand feeling relieved. It was just a small head wound, which tended to bleed a lot but would be easy to patch up. She blinked as she saw Daryl's hands were gripping the couch tightly, on either side of him, and his whole body was rigid on the couch. She turned away feeling slightly flustered, and went over to the kitchen. She found a bowl and filled it with warm water, and rifled through the cupboards for a clean cloth. There was nothing that didn't look like it hadn't been thrown in a puddle of grease and stomped up and down on.
"It might be better if we go in the bathroom," she said over her shoulder, as she pulled a cloth out from the back of the cupboard. She heard him move on the couch and she looked over to see him walk into the bathroom with the first aid kit.
She grabbed the bowl and towel. She had no idea what she was doing, and her mind still hadn't comprehended exactly what had happened with that man.
Once they were in the bathroom, she began washing the cut and carefully wiping down his face. He closed his eyes the entire time, leaning against the bathroom wall. It was a tight fit with both of them standing in there, and Beth studied his face carefully as she rinsed the cloth out. There was a bruise already forming on his cheek from the punch he took. She carefully dabbed the area where it was forming, as there was a little bit of dried blood. She was surprised he was letting her do this though he still seemed tense. In complete contrast, tending to Daryl was calming Beth down significantly. In the cabin with Daryl she felt safe, and the silence wasn't tense. At least, not tense like it was when that man was leering at her.
There was some soap in the first aid kit and she put a little bit on the towel before dipping it in the bowl, and gently wiped the scratch. Daryl swallowed hard, but his face remained impassive. The cut was still bleeding. She used one of the antiseptic swabs on the cut as well; basically using anything in the first aid kit that she thought would be of use, probably going overboard but she didn't know any other way to thank him.
"Does that guy's brother know your name? Or anything? Can he find you?" She asked, keeping her voice soft as she rinsed the cloth in the sink. Daryl shook his head, keeping his eyes shut.
"He knew we were comin' after 5, that was it. Didn't give him any details, thank fuck…just told him we'd be there."
Beth let out a sigh of relief.
Once she'd finished cleaning him up, she stuck one of the bandages on it and handed him a couple of painkillers.
He took the pills, muttering a gruff thanks.
"No, thank you." She smiled up at him. His eyes flickered as he stared down at her and she suddenly realised how close together they were standing in his tiny bathroom.
Beth abruptly turned away, grabbing the bowl and smiled quickly at him before taking it back out to the kitchen sink, leaning on the counter for a moment. She had to remind herself to breathe. The butterflies had come back, and this time she wasn't about to go on the motorcycle.
She shook her head slightly, as she rinsed the bowl out. She was just really hungry. She wasn't attracted to Daryl Dixon, no matter how…attractive he may be. Oh god.
She jumped when she heard a noise behind her and spun around, blushing when she saw Daryl entering the room. She gripped the counter behind her, as he shut the door behind him. There was a moment of awkward silence, which was broken suddenly by a long, loud rumble from Beth's stomach.
He lifted an eyebrow at her. She shrugged, aware that she was still blushing.
"C'mon, I'll take ya home," he said.
Beth sighed, but nodded. She followed him outside slowly, and waited while he locked the cabin.
"We're not having much luck, huh?" She asked, squinting in the darkness.
He shrugged. "Guy was an asshole. Deserved it," he stated as he took the stairs two at a time.
Beth nodded, even though he hadn't really answered her. She really didn't want to go home yet, and it was still relatively early.
"You sure you're ok to drive?" She asked, looking at the bike dubiously.
He rolled his shoulder. "S'nothing, just a scratch, c'mon," he picked up her helmet.
"Can we get somethin' to eat?" She asked, taking the helmet. "I'm honestly starvin', haven't eaten since this morning."
Daryl picked up his helmet, and jingled his keys for a moment.
"No food at home?" He asked dryly.
Beth wavered. "Well, yeah…we got food at home. It's just…I don't…I don't wanna go home. Just yet."
He paused, the jingling of the keys stopping.
"C'mon." Daryl jerked his head, swinging his leg over the bike.
Beth sighed, mounting the bike behind him.
A/N: Thank you for the follows, favourites, reviews and for reading!