Beth woke up the next morning feeling clearer than she had in months, she got herself up and out of bed, grabbed her headphones and headed out for a run. It was later than she meant to be up but there was energy thrumming through her and she knew she wouldn't be able to sit and eat with Maggie and Glenn until she worked some of it off. There were no thoughts in pacing through her mind as she ran, all she could feel was the slap of her feet on the pavement and the music playing in her ears.

She got back to the house and hardly noticed the beat up pickup truck out front. When Beth burst into the kitchen she tracked a bit of dirt in from her old Converses. Her hair fell wispy around her face and her cheeks were flushed. She pulled up the hem of her Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt to wipe the sweat off her forehead and when she looked up met Daryl's smirking eyes. He didn't say anything, but raised his eyebrow at her bared stomach.

"Wasn't expecting to see you so soon." Beth took a drink from her water bottle and toed off her shoes, he was still watching her. "You could take a picture if you want."

His cheeks turned bright red. Daryl huffed and dropped his eyes to the floor. "Sorry."

Beth went to touch his arm but he moved his shoulder back, just out of reach. "I was just ki…"

"Beth!" Maggie came from the hallway, "I was calling you all morning! It's almost noon!"

She snapped her hand back and turned to her sister. "Sorry, I woke up late and went for a run, left my phone upstairs."

Maggie motioned for them to sit down and as they did filled three coffee cups. She automatically put cream and sugar into her's and Beth's and then looked to Daryl.

"Jus' sugar. A little bit."

They sat quietly for a bit until Maggie nearly lost it from the tension in the room. "Daryl brought you a TV."

Beth's eyes snapped to his. "You didn't have to do that."

He shrugged, "Had it just sitting there. Ain't gonna watch two at once."

"Well, thanks."

"Mmhmm."

Beth stood on the sidewalk and watched as Daryl hefted the old television set out of the truck bed. She walked ahead of him and held the doors open. When they got into the apartment she just pointed to a spot on the floor.

"I know it's not new or anything, but it works. You can hook up a DVD player." Daryl stood and looked around. "Place is nice. Bigger than it looks."

"Thanks, it'll be good once I get settled." She sighed, "It's gonna be weird though. Having my own place. I've never really been alone before."

"Livin' by yourself don't mean you're alone." The way he said it made her believe him.

She gave him a smile, "You're right."

She didn't feel awkward having him there. He could see into her bedroom, all the garbage bags with her clothes hanging out. The boxes stacked in the corner and tipped over on their sides with their contents spilling onto the floor. He stood in the middle of her open book life. Daryl could see her high school yearbook, her participation ribbons for being awful at cross country. She watched him look at the stack of framed family photos and watched his eyes drift over her movie collection. She saw the way he shifted away from the bedroom when the rumpled sheets and bra hanging on the door stood out to him. "You need a dresser. Coffee table too." He tapped the futon Shawn gave her with the toe of his boot. "Maybe a chair."

"Yeah, it'd be nice. Have to wait till I have a job though."

Daryl shook his head. "I got some stuff."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm. Go shower, get dressed. I'll wait outside." He moved to go.

"Daryl," He turned back to her, the side of his lip was pulled between his teeth, "You can stay here, I don't mind."

He didn't answer as she closed the bathroom door behind her.

His truck was loud but it ran smooth. Daryl turned up the radio. "Got a hole in the muffler, haven't had time to fix it. More annoying than anything else."

Beth furrowed her brow when they pulled up to a run down brick building. It wasn't the type of place she would've pictured him living in. The front steps had caution tape strung up across the railings. Daryl led her around back and into a musty smelling hallway. He tried one key and when it didn't open the door he used another.

"Gotta clear this place out by the end of the week. If you need anything just take it."

A layer of dust that shifted when they entered was visible floating in the light as Beth looked around. The furniture was nicer than she would've guessed.

"Doesn't look like you live here."

"Nah, 's my brother's place. He's gonna be gone for awhile. Locked up." Daryl looked at her through his hair. He didn't miss how she stiffened up in surprise. His voice had a sharp bite to it when he spoke again. "Selling drugs ain't catchy." His tone dropped lower, "Or genetic." He stalked off into the bedroom leaving her fiddling with the silver ring on her thumb. She wasn't sure how long she had been standing there when he called out to her. "Come 'ere and see if you want this dresser."

They left the apartment with a dresser, coffee table, television stand, and kitchen set. Daryl was quiet as he and Glenn carried the things upstairs. Beth ordered a pizza for them when Glenn and Maggie left for dinner with Glenn's family.

"I still think Maggie had you come over so she didn't have to help me." Beth joked as she lined up books on a shelf.

Daryl was bent over hooking up the TV. She watched as he straightened out and tucked his shirt in before reaching to plug everything in. "It ain't like that."

She could tell he was shaking his head even though she couldn't see him.

"Glenn said that the bar on West Main has open mics on Saturday's. Hook's? You ever play there?"

Daryl looked at her like he didn't understand the question. "Nah. Never played for a crowd."

She smiled at him, "We should play together. Think we could get a set together in the next couple weeks?"

He cleared his throat. "Don't know if I'll have a lot of time to practice. Don't you start school?"

"Just two classes. You could just give me some stuff to learn, we can play what you know."

The doorbell rang and before he could answer her Beth was bounding down the stairs to get their dinner. She didn't have plates unpacked yet so they ate off paper towels. Daryl wolfed down his first slice and mumbled a quick, "Alright, I guess," in between licking sauce off his finger.