Sleep did not return easily to Beth, and she tossed and turned in Daryl's bed restlessly. The bed had the same scent as Daryl – earthly, with a metallic undercurrent that offset the fresh scent of nature.
Burying her face in one of the pillows she winced as she remembered their kiss. Even lying there in bed she could feel her face turning red. She had never been kissed like that before, no kiss with Jimmy had ever made her feel weak. Or had actually made her moan. Good God she had actually moaned. If it were possible to do so, Beth would have liked to have sunk completely into the bed and disappeared.
But…he had responded to her kiss. Why had he then pushed her away? Beth turned on to her back, flinging her arm out. Had he really responded or was she just imagining it? Had it only been her who had been swept away? Beth winced again. Swept away? Had Daryl Dixon been swept away? Had she lost her mind?
No, she could have sworn he had responded to the kiss as strongly as she did…the way he'd gripped her hips, pulling her in. The way his mouth had assaulted hers, his lips soft and demanding at the same time.
Beth covered her face with her hands, squeezing her eyes shut. He was on the other side of the wall, probably sleeping on the couch, and she was quietly going insane in his bed. The entire night had been eclipsed for those few seconds.
The party had been one giant anxiety attack, one that Beth would have gladly forgotten about and hoped like hell her friends never mentioned. But, as had clearly been proven, you can't always get what you want.
Which led Beth to the question…what did Daryl want? Did he want her? Beth didn't want to act like some silly teenage girl and obsess over it, but somewhere along the way she recognised that she had started to fall for Daryl Dixon, and she couldn't help it. Darn it, she was a teenage girl.
Perhaps it was because she was a teenage girl. She doubted that age had anything to do with it though, given all the time they'd spent together. Was it something she had done? She flipped back on to her stomach, her arms slipping underneath his pillow and gathering it against her face. Inhaling deeply, she tried to calm herself and forget the sting and utter humiliation of the rejection.
All of Beth's tossing and turning seemed to also remind her of her upset stomach, and she stilled as she tried to calm the queasiness. She didn't even know what she had had to drink, the brightly coloured liquid in various shades tasting slightly sweet but mostly bitter, burning her throat. Alcohol: 1. Beth: 0. She grimaced into the pillow. Maybe it was because she had acted like such a brat earlier, and had then sat in his bed throwing up into a bucket. Not to mention her friends begging him to pick her up in the middle of the night…
Beth wanted to pummel the pillow in frustration. None of that changed the fact that he had kissed her back. Period.
If she focused on that detail for a second, she could relax into the mattress beneath her. She could let a smile spread across her face, warmth spread through her body, and she could feel like she was soaring again. If she focused on that detail.
All that she could really focus on though, was the searing hurt of being pushed away.
.
.
At some point Beth must have slipped into a light slumber, as the next thing she was aware of was heavy footsteps from the living area, coming towards the bedroom door.
Beth sat up slowly in the bed, as Daryl opened the door just as slowly before seeing that she was awake. His hair was mussed but he seemed alert. He looked at her guardedly from the doorway.
"Be gettin' light soon. Whenever you're ready."
Beth stared after him as he disappeared from the doorway, his footsteps through the cabin reaching her ears as the floor creaked beneath them. They stopped suddenly, and she tilted her head to listen, but the cabin was silent. Furrowing her brow, she listened for another moment before shaking her head. She got out of the bed slowly, picking her phone up off the bedside table and stuffing it in her pocket. Looking around the room, Beth took a moment to pause. This was his domain, his private, personal space. She wondered who else had crossed this threshold, and then hastily cleared that thought from her mind. Even though his blatant rejection had hurt her, he had let her in so far. Perhaps he just wasn't –
"Ready?"
Beth snapped her head up, her eyes wide as she looked at Daryl in the doorway. She hadn't heard him coming in the midst of her musing.
Nodding shakily, she stuttered her assent. He disappeared again and she quickly ducked down, grabbing her shoes and pulling them on, doing a sort of jig on each leg as she tried to do it as quickly as possible.
Steeling herself, Beth walked out of the bedroom only to see the living area empty and the front door to the cabin open. She walked over to the front door, stopping in the doorway to look out at Daryl standing by his motorcycle, cigarette hanging in his mouth as he looked out into the darkness. A part of her wanted to stomp her feet and demand an explanation until he gave her one. But as she looked at him, she knew that it wouldn't help the situation at all. Treading softly across the balcony, she leaned on to the balustrade.
"Would you like me to lock up?" She asked, unsurprised when he didn't move a muscle. He took another drag before he threw his cigarette on the ground, stomping his foot down, extinguishing it. He strode over to the stairs, taking them two at a time.
"S'all right," he breathed as he moved past her.
Beth waited by his bike as he turned off the lights inside and locked the front door. As he approached her and the bike, she picked up his helmet and held it out for him. His eyes flickered as he looked between her and the helmet but he made no comment, only muttering his thanks as he accepted it.
Beth turned to pick up her helmet just as he did the same, both of them faltering before he quickly reached again for the helmet. Beth stood back and accepted it from him with a sheepish smile, his hand immediately flying to the back of his neck, mussing his hair up.
"Thank you." Beth murmured, weighing the helmet in her hands. The air between them was charged with thrumming electricity.
Daryl grunted, clearing his throat. "I'll drop you off at the gate."
Beth nodded. The air around them was beginning to take on a bluish hue, as dawn slowly approached the night sky. She realised as she listened closely that you could hear a faint hum of the birds and insects as they roused for the day ahead. She smiled softly and glanced at Daryl, only to see him quickly look away. She furrowed her brow, but before she had time to dwell on that he was swinging his leg over his motorcycle.
He glanced back at her expectantly and she made to follow him, putting the helmet on and placing her hand on his shoulder and lifting herself up and over the bike. Somehow, this time as she settled her body against his it felt more intimate than it ever did before. She knew he could feel it too, as his body tensed as her arms snaked around his waist. He put his helmet on, and he glanced back at her again. She squeezed the skin underneath her hands, as best she could with his jacket on, and he kicked the stand out a little harder than usual, before the engine roared to life.
The roads were quiet in the early hour of Sunday morning; a faint yellow hue hitting the flat landscape as the sun sat on the edge of the horizon. Beth held on to Daryl tightly, wishing that she could have stayed at his cabin. Perhaps they could have talked, if she stayed a little longer. But perhaps she was just deluding herself.
They weren't quite yet at the gate when he started to slow down, and came to a halt on the side of the road. With a sinking feeling, Beth realised that he was going to leave her there. Daryl cut the engine, the sudden silence almost jarring in comparison. He waited while she climbed off the bike, and she pulled the helmet off. Beth handed it back to him, expecting him to just clip it back on and drive away.
"Bye," she said softly. She turned and started to walk away, listening for the engine to roar back to life but it never came.
"Beth," he called after her. Against her better judgment, she stopped and turned around to look at him expectantly. He clipped his helmet to his bike, before lightly jogging the few steps after her.
"I'll walk ya to the gate." He motioned for her to follow, but she remained still.
"It's not that far," she said.
He stopped, turning to look back at her.
"I don't know what we're doing." She shook her head. He took a small step back.
Beth looked up at him. "Ya can't just push me away like that, and expect it to be the same. 'Cos it really hurt."
Beth didn't say the words to make him feel bad, but she wanted him to understand how she felt.
He looked at her helplessly. "Beth…"
"I don't wanna push you into somethin' you don't want. An' I don't wanna push you away. But…" Beth looked around, feeling just as lost as he looked, before shrugging just as helplessly.
He stared at her, before looking down at the ground.
"You still wanna go today?" He asked, eyeing her furtively.
Beth shrugged. "If you still wanna go, we'll go. I want to go today."
He nodded.
They stood opposite one another, Daryl shifting his feet.
"I'll see ya then." Beth forced a smile, before walking past him. She didn't look back, and she didn't hear the engine start until she reached the gate.
.
.
.
Luckily it didn't look as though anyone was awake yet in the Greene house as Beth opened the front door quietly.
As she eased her bedroom door shut, she thought she heard a noise coming from Maggie's bedroom next door just as the door clicked into place. She froze, listening quietly as she held on to the door handle. While she wasn't exactly sneaking around, she was hoping to avoid any questions just yet. When she didn't hear anything else, she let go of the handle and turned to survey her room briefly.
The rising sun pierced her room with light, causing Beth to squint slightly as she shut her curtains. It would be the first time in her life that she would be going to bed as the sun was rising…unless she counted sleeping in Daryl's bed already. Beth tugged her jeans off, before flinging the stupid smiley face t-shirt off, tossing them both over to the basket by the door but missing the mark. She didn't bother picking them up.
After pulling her pyjamas on she climbed into bed, trying to ignore her stomach's angry rumbling, falling into a restless slumber.
.
.
Beth awoke slowly, with a pounding headache, twisting in her sheets with a groan.
She had taken a couple of painkillers when she had gone to the bathroom at Daryl's place, but her headache hadn't really been that bad at that point. Lifting her head with a wince, she was surprised to see a glass of water by her bed. That was…strange.
Her head…her whole body felt heavy, like her bones were suddenly made of lead. Dragging her arm underneath the sheets, she fumbled around for her phone before realising it was probably still in her jeans pocket, which she had thrown across the room. She pushed herself up slowly with a sigh, realising that she would have to actually get out of bed. She picked up the glass of water and took a few sips, her traitorous mind immediately leaping to Daryl handing her the glass of water last night in the darkness of his room, their fingertips touching. His hands on her hips, his lips –
No.
She squirmed slightly where she sat, wanting all at once to revisit and suppress that memory. How strange that it already seemed to have taken place in another world from where she sat in her sun filled bedroom. A noise downstairs alerted her to her family's presence in the kitchen, most likely having breakfast. She took another sip of water before getting out of bed, quietly moving about as she grabbed some fresh clothes and retrieved her phone from her jeans. It was only 8:30 am.
As tempting as it was to set an alarm so that she could snooze for another half hour or so, she decided it would be best if she just got ready now. Sighing, she tossed her phone on her bed and made her way into the bathroom, taking her time showering. The shower seemed to help with her headache, the warm water cascading down her body. She even blow-dried her hair and did her make up, which was a rarity for her. At least, to apply more than a quick dash of lip-gloss and mascara.
She felt refreshed and ready to face the day as she descended the stairs, the sounds of activity in the kitchen still buzzing. As she entered she saw her father, Glenn and Maggie at the dining table, each looking up to greet her.
Her father smiled warmly, however Glenn and Maggie's expressions were quite different. Both were hung-over, that was for sure. Glenn eyed her guardedly, his eyes shifting around the room uncomfortably. Maggie sat next to him, staring at her stonily.
The chair scraped against the floor as her father stood up slowly, before shuffling his way over to the kitchen bench. Beth followed him, trying to ignore her sister's glare.
"We've got bacon and eggs, toast, and grilled tomatoes." Her father got a plate out from the cupboard and handed it to Beth in his careful manner, and her heart contracted at this simple gesture.
As Beth piled food on to her plate, Hershel placed his own plate in the sink. "I'll be out in the barn if you need me."
He kissed Maggie's head as he walked past her before giving Beth a peck on her cheek, and he left the room.
The silence lingered in the kitchen as they listened to the front door open and shut.
Beth turned uncertainly to face the table, walking slowly with her plate in her hand before sitting down opposite her sister and her boyfriend, the plate clunking awkwardly on the table in the silence.
"What time did you get home?" Maggie asked brusquely.
Beth blinked, her mind whirring. "Um, I'm not sure. I think Maddy dropped me off round 4 or 5?"
Maggie raised her eyebrows, leaning forward to rest her chin on her elbow. "That's funny, I could'a sworn she said she was goin' home after dropping us off."
Beth's breath caught in her throat, her lie clearly exposed.
"You wanna tell me why I got all these messages on my phone sayin' you went home with Daryl Dixon?" Maggie sat up straight. Beth cursed silently. She couldn't even remember seeing anyone else around them when they left the party but someone must have seen them.
"Uh…"
"And why I heard a motorcycle at 5am this morning, right before I hear you creepin' round the house?"
Beth blinked at her sister, her mouth slightly parted in surprise. Maggie closed her eyes briefly, sighing as she took Beth's reaction as confirmation.
"Beth, are you…sleepin' with him?"
"What?" Beth was shocked, her face immediately reddening. She looked between her sister and Glenn, unable to believe that she had asked her that right in front of him, and that she even thought that to begin with. Not that Beth would admit she had ever thought about it…
"No, I'm not." Beth answered flatly, once she'd gotten past her shock. Glenn looked even more uncomfortable than she felt. She wished he'd leave the room.
Maggie's anger seemed to lessen, and she looked at her sister in concern. "I'm just worried about you. Did somethin' happen at the party?"
Beth looked down at the table, avoiding her sister's eyes. "Nothing happened, I just…felt sick, and Daryl picked me up." She looked up then, almost defiantly. "That's it."
Her sister tilted her head. "Okay…then what happened? You went to his house."
Glenn shifted in his seat, looking down at his plate.
Beth hesitated before answering. "Yeah, I just…slept on the couch for a bit, and he took me home."
Maggie looked sceptical, but stayed silent as she pushed her hair behind her ear. "Okay." She said finally. "Well I told Daddy you weren't feelin' well, and Vanessa took you home last night."
Beth realised that her sister looked a little sad, with a sadness of her own. There once was a time when they knew everything about each other.
"You just be careful round him, Bethy." Maggie pushed her chair out with a meaningful look as she stood.
Beth picked up her fork, having not even started eating yet. "You don't even know him," she muttered, picking at her food.
Maggie stopped in her tracks, turning to look down at her sister. "Do you?"
Beth didn't look up from her plate, still picking at her food resentfully.
.
.
As it turned out Beth wasn't as hungry as she thought she was and only ate half of what she had packed on to her plate. By then it was nearly 10 am anyway, and she washed her plate and cutlery up hurriedly before rushing upstairs and brushing her teeth. She passed Maggie's room and caught a glimpse of Glenn and Maggie packing their things, getting ready to go back home.
She wasn't exactly angry with her sister, after all, she had covered for her to their father. Whether or not that would matter in the long run was another matter. If people had messaged Maggie telling her what they saw, it wasn't too far off that people would message others as well. It wouldn't take long until word reached her father, and when that happened…well, Daryl may not have been entirely wrong when he said that he'd shoot them. Only it would be Maggie too, now.
The only combative action Beth could think of was to tell her father first, and stress that nothing had happened. Only, something had happened. But…nothing like what her father would fear had happened. Right?
Beth entered her room with her mind racing, only to see her phone vibrating on her bed. She picked it up and saw a message from Daryl that he was at the gate. Sighing, she stuffed her phone into her pocket and strode back out into the hallway to stand at Maggie's door.
"I'm going now."
Maggie paused in the midst of making her bed. Despite their disagreement, both sisters instinctively knew the importance of least saying good-bye, no matter whatever knee-jerk emotion they were experiencing in that moment. Maggie paced over to the doorway to meet Beth in a firm hug.
"If you need anything, or wanna talk, I'm here for you." Maggie said into Beth's hair. Beth nodded tightly, smiling slightly as she pulled away.
"Thanks Maggie." She said quietly, then, louder, "bye Glenn!"
"Bye!" He called back as she hurried down the stairs and outside.
.
.
Beth found him at the gate, leaning on his motorcycle. Her stomach did a flip-flop that really didn't help, and she wrung her hands together.
"Hi."
He was gnawing on his lip, but he stopped abruptly, greeting her with a small jerk of his chin. "Hey."
Beth floundered under his gaze, her mind racing through last night's events. Lying in his bed, grasping at his shirt, tasting the sweet tang in his kiss.
He cleared his throat. "How ya feelin'?"
His hands gripping her skin.
She smiled shyly. "Better, thanks."
He nodded slowly, his gaze on her making her feel warm in her belly. "Thought we'd take the truck, stop by work."
Blinking, she nodded. "Oh, ok."
His hands at her shoulders, pushing her away.
"Sure." She muttered.
.
.
The car yard was deserted when they pulled into the dusty enclosure, the business closed for the day. Daryl seemed to keep whatever hours suited him, though it was strange for it not to be open on a Sunday. She wondered if he'd fired Axel.
Daryl switched the engine off, and they both dismounted the bike. Beth handed her helmet to Daryl after he held his hand out. Inwardly she cringed, praying that they moved past this stilted awkwardness.
"I'll grab the keys," he told her, before striding inside. Beth watched him walk inside, her stomach slowly tying itself into knots.
She kicked at the dirt as she wandered aimlessly through the yard, her chucks scraping against the ground as a cloud of dust gathered at her feet. Turning on the spot as she stared at the brown particles of dust, she glanced up and saw two men standing at the entrance to the yard.
"Remember me, sweetheart?"
Beth opened her mouth in surprise, taking a step back. Her vocal cords seem to have stopped working though, as no sound came out.
Standing a short distance away from her was a horribly familiar man, even in the glare of the sunshine. The beer belly was just as prominent as she remembered, the few times her mind flashed back to that night…or rather, that particular part of the night.
Beth's eyes darted to the other man, who bore a striking resemblance to the first. She took another step back, glancing over her shoulder to see Daryl pushing the door open, a dark look upon his face as he strode purposefully towards them. Beth looked back at the two men.
The first man smiled, and it was a smile that promised no joy for Beth.
"Was hopin' you'd be here darlin'. Ya boyfriend there, put me in the fuckin' hospital." He turned to the other man. "That's him."
Beth turned just in time to see Daryl reach out to grab her elbow.
"Get outta here, now," he pulled her close before fixing her an urgent look. He let go of her arm abruptly, glaring at the two men and she shook her head.
"No, not without you," she looked up at him as she placed a hand on his arm, the muscles underneath flexing.
"I'd take his advice, sweetheart," the second man warned, his eyes fixed on Daryl. "We've got a debt to settle."
"Took a while but we finally found you, Dixon," the first man sneered.
Daryl moved his arm abruptly, throwing Beth's hand off.
"'S your own damn fault you went to hospital, get the fuck outta here," Daryl glared at them, shifting slightly on his feet to edge in front of Beth.
The first man looked at his companion, who nodded slightly.
The men advanced towards the pair, Beth suddenly aware of how fast her heart was beating. She flexed her hand, and looked down to see she had gripped Daryl's vest in her hand.
Daryl moved quickly, blocking Beth from the two men, but when both came at him, Daryl took a hit at one.
The beer-bellied man dodged the blow, while his friend moved quickly past them. Beth turned to run, but he was faster. He grabbed her arms, drawing them roughly behind her back before pulling her away.
Beth was dimly aware she was yelling, but her blood was pumping in her veins, her heart beating so loudly she didn't know what she was saying. She dug her heels in the dirt, twisting and jumping in his arms but the man's grip was strong, and he pulled her forcefully towards the store. She stared after Daryl desperately, calling his name.
She watched as Daryl took a swing at the man, and this time it hit home.
Beth struggled furiously in the man's arms as he dragged her away, his grip on her arms painfully tight as his hands dug into her flesh.
Daryl dodged a punch from the other man easily, before elbowing him awkwardly in the chin. The man recovered quickly however, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"LET ME GO!" Beth shrieked, twisting before she lifted her foot, jamming her heel down on to his foot. He swore in surprise, his grip on her loosening for a second. It was enough, and she wrenched herself out of his grip, her eyes on Daryl as she leapt forward.
Daryl circled the man warily as Beth hurried towards them. The man dug into his pocket, and pulled out a small object. Beth didn't realise what it was until he flicked his wrist forcefully, a blade glinting in the sunlight.
Beth stopped dead in her tracks, shocked. That was when she felt a heavy weight smash into her back sending her into the dirt, and everything went black.
A/N: Hello! Hopefully everyone hasn't abandoned this, I know it's been a while. My trip was awesome but afterwards I was pretty unwell, so I went from writing every day (before my trip) to what should have been 3 weeks of not writing turning into about 5 weeks of not writing.
If you're wondering where the guys in the last part of this chapter come from, check out chapter 8. Also I'm assuming that if you're reading this you have watched, or read what happened and therefore refused to watch, the mid season finale but if not there's a spoiler ahead.
I had always planned on this guy coming back, and it sucks that this chapter happened to end at this point after the mid season finale aired, but this story is still in progress! It's all good! That said, I'm pretty disappointed (understatement) they killed Beth. Sometimes though I think I enjoy this more than the show, and I've been reading Daryl & Beth stories since before season 4 aired, and will continue to do so.
So I'd like to end this essay by thanking everyone for all your follows, favourites, reviews and for reading my story. They helped me so much getting back into this! :)