Daryl wrestled his way through what he felt was wall to wall bodies trying to find the people he was looking for. He had rushed home after working at Hershel's for half a day and showered so that he smelt less like manure than he usually did. He'd gotten dressed quickly and rushed down the crowded sidewalk, knowing that everyone else would be at the celebration already. Apparently people started preparing for this thing hours in advance.
The entire main street of Sweet Junction looked like some kind of carnival. There was supposed to be a parade later, and the sides of the streets were littered with vendors selling fast food, balloons, American flags, and anything else that you might want or not even know you wanted.
Daryl felt a little out of place. Despite the fact that the shirt he'd thrown on after his shower was red plaid, he wasn't nearly as patriotic as most of the souls that crowded around, laughing and talking. He had seen more American flags in his search for Merle and Andrea than he'd probably seen in his entire life.
He walked along, though, his eyes darting to both sides of the street, and tried to avoid stepping on any number of small children that ran and laughed and darted through the legs of people that hardly seemed to notice them.
Finally, his eyes found Andrea sitting up on top of one of the columns outside of one of the local businesses that he hadn't frequented yet and he kept his eyes glued on her for fear of losing her in the sea of people. He'd never imagined that the tiny town held so many occupants, but then again, he'd never seen them all flood into the same general region.
Andrea's eyes found him as he was getting closer and she waved at him, one hand on her head to keep the straw hat she was wearing from tipping off when she leaned her head back to get a better view of him. He waved back at her and continued to shoulder his way through the crowd, apologizing at random to everyone he bumped into, and even to the ones that bumped into him.
Finally he made his way over to where she was and found Merle not far off engaged in some kind of chitchat with a man that Daryl didn't know. He was stopped for a second, though, when his eyes settled on Carol only a few feet away from Andrea's perch. She was smiling, looking out at the crowd, and she obviously hadn't seen him yet. She was wearing blue jean shorts that were longer than the ones she wore to work at the Water Ho, and a white tank top with a red button down shirt tied over it. He swallowed and looked up at Andrea who was smiling down at him from her brick roost.
"You made it," she said.
"'Bout drowned in all them damn people," he declared. He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Carol's attention turned when he spoke. She moved closer to where he was standing then.
"Everyone in Sweet Junction comes out for the celebration," she said.
And just like that, Daryl felt his stomach do a somersault. She was talking to him. Andrea had said she'd be there. She'd said that she would talk to him. This was supposed to be his chance, his shot to make up for what he'd said, or hadn't said, in her apartment that day when he'd turned the spare key over and over in his head without knowing what to say or do. And suddenly he didn't know what to do today any more than he had then, even though he'd been rehearsing for the day the whole time he was at work.
He did the only thing he could do, and he smiled.
Andrea dropped down, then from her perch, landing with a thud on the sidewalk almost in between them. She immediately backed up and leaned against the column that she'd been sitting on.
"I just saw Michonne," she said to Carol. "She's headed this way. It should only take her about twenty minutes to make it through the crowd."
"Do you think she needs my help?" Carol asked, shading her eyes with her hand and looking back over the crowd. Daryl didn't know how she'd be able to find anyone out here unless they were up where Andrea had been. It was worse than being trapped inside a Where's Waldo book.
"No, she knows where she's headed. She'll just plow her way through, I'm sure," Andrea said.
Carol giggled a little and Daryl felt his stomach flip again.
Damn it, he'd rehearsed for this shit. He was supposed to start talking to her. He was supposed to engage her in idle conversation. That's what the hell Andrea called it. He was supposed to get her talking about herself, ask her about the celebration, and comment on the parade. He was supposed to offer some shit like boosting her up on his shoulders or something when the parade started so that she could see over the heads of all the assholes around. And right now he couldn't find his tongue in his head. All he could do was stare at her with a half a damn smile on his face that probably made him look like some creepy motherfucker instead of like the charming gentleman that Andrea said he was going to be.
Michonne shoved her way through the crowd a few minutes later, pushing a baby stroller. Daryl had met the woman a few times and he knew that she and Carol were friends, but he didn't know how to talk to her any more than he knew how to talk to Carol at the moment. The woman was a lawyer and most of what he knew about lawyers came from conversations that were had over a number of Merle's misdemeanors. He didn't know what lawyers did in their free time. And on top of that, she had two little kids with her, one of which Carol was busy wrestling out of the stroller. Daryl didn't do well with kids, and he didn't do well with Carol, and Carol with a kid was about as mindboggling as he thought the entire stupid situation could get.
"You know," Andrea said, "you should go and get us some sno cones."
Daryl looked at her a moment and observed the sea of people around him. He could see, across the street and down a ways, a vendor that had a large sign that said sno cones, but in this crowd it looked like it would be easier to get a slice or two of green cheese from the moon.
"Looks like ya done had some, or else ya been blowin' Smurfs," Daryl said.
Andrea narrowed her eyes at him and cocked her head quickly in the direction of Carol who was busy adjusting a tiny hat on the head of the baby that she'd freed from the stroller prison.
"Uh, ya want a sno cone?" Daryl asked, moving closer to Carol. She turned, her attention off the baby for a moment and smiled.
"Yeah," she said. "Sure."
Daryl looked back at Andrea who was making a face at him. It looked like she was straining to do something he thought the muscles in her neck might pop if she kept doing that.
"Um…what flavor?" He asked.
Carol seemed to think about it a minute.
"Red," she said.
Daryl didn't know if he should point out that red was a color and not a flavor. He looked back at Andrea.
"I want blue," Andrea said. "Michonne, do you want a sno cone?"
"What flavors are they?" Michonne asked, kneeling down to do something with one of the kids that she was carting around.
"They've got Cherry, Blue Raspberry, and Coconut," Andrea said.
"Coconut," Michonne said.
Daryl looked back at Andrea.
"One of each, Daryl," she said, smiling.
Daryl sighed and started trying to fight his way through the crowd toward the sno cone stand. Once he stood in line and got the sno cones, he waded back through the people, practicing over and over the way that he'd strike up some kind of very interesting conversation with Carol once he passed her the sticky thing that was melting all over his hand.
When he got back to his people, they were joined by another man that Daryl didn't know exactly, but immediately identified as the man who had pulled him off of Ed in the street that day that he had caught Ed attacking Carol.
"Tyreese Scott," the man said to Daryl as Daryl started handing out sno cones to the women.
Daryl wiped his hand quickly on his pants and shook Tyreese's hand.
"Daryl Dixon," Daryl said.
"Have we met before?" Tyreese asked, wrinkling his brow in question at Daryl.
"Kinda," Daryl said, shooting a quick look at Carol who was watching both of them and smiling as she scooped out part of her sno cone with her tongue. Daryl shivered a little watching her. "You…uh…I was…we met at kinda a bad time," Daryl said, fully distracted now by how much attention Carol's tongue was paying to the melting shaved ice.
Tyreese nodded, recognition flooding over his face.
"That's right," he said, but he didn't say anything further.
Daryl stood near Carol, pushed closer by Andrea and watched her. He was failing miserably at this. Tyreese was entertaining Michonne, and she laughing at whatever the fuck he was talking about. Daryl knew that's what the hell he was supposed to be doing right now, but he just kept looking at Carol who was now trying to feed one of the little kids part of her sno cone.
"So…uh…ya always come ta watch the parade?" Daryl asked.
Carol looked at him then and smiled.
"Ever since I was a little girl," she said. "I used to look forward to it from the time that school let out."
Daryl smiled at her.
"Really? Why?" He asked. He couldn't really understand why anyone would want to be out here. It was hot and there were far too many people. The smell of all the fast food vendors would almost make any person nauseous, and if you weren't careful your toes were stepped on every few minutes. Not to mention that all the sweets had drawn nearly every bee from the entire state of Georgia. He could see, out of the corner of his eye, that one of them was busy chasing Andrea in small circles.
"I don't know," Carol said. "It was just so exciting. We'd come out here, stay the whole day. The parade always seemed like such a big deal and we'd eat nothing but junk food all day and then watch the fireworks when the sun went down. It's silly, I guess, but I always thought it was so much fun."
Daryl supposed that it could be a lot of fun, if you were into that sort of thing.
"It's not the same now, though," Carol said. Daryl thought she looked a little sad for a moment, and he didn't want sad. Sad wasn't what Andrea said was going to happen today.
"Why ain't it the same?" Daryl asked.
Carol shrugged a little.
"It's not as much fun eating junk food when you realize you're just going to get fat from it," Carol said. "And the parade isn't as exciting as it was…and I never stay for the fireworks anymore."
"Why not?" Daryl asked.
Carol crinkled her nose at him and shifted the baby she was holding to her other hip, handing off the halfway empty paper cone to Tyreese who seemed to be taking up a collection.
"The noise startles me," Carol said. "When I was little my daddy was always there. I guess it wasn't as bad when I was on his shoulders. Nothing can get you when your daddy's around, right? I know it's silly, but I just don't like the noise."
"Ain't silly," Daryl said. "Lotsa people don't like poppin' noises. Ain't no fun ta sit around jumpin' outta ya skin."
"Ed never liked to stay that long anyway," Carol said. "He was always here for the parade, and then it was time to go home. No need to stay out all night."
Daryl nodded. He stood quietly by Carol and waited for the parade to start, not sure how to dive into further conversation with her. After a while, Carol put the baby she had back into the stroller and moved back against the wall with Andrea. Daryl noticed that everyone was starting to move. Apparently it was time for the parade to start.
"Here they come!" He heard Andrea call out. He turned and she was jumping around, excited about the small parade apparently. Merle was standing beside her, his conversation having ended. "Boost me up, Merle," Andrea demanded.
"Ya gotta be shittin' me," Daryl heard his brother respond. "I ain't holdin' ya ass up."
"Come on, Merle, I want to see better," Andrea protested. "Unless you're not man enough."
"I'm man enough, darlin' but I ain't whipped," Merle responded. "Ya best get'cha damn ass back up on that pole if ya can't see from where ya standin'."
Daryl realized that was his cue. As the homemade floats got closer, Daryl stepped beside Carol who was raised up on her tiptoes trying to see over the heads of the crowd. He took a deep breath, prayed that this worked, and tapped her on the shoulder.
"What?" She asked, turning her attention briefly toward him.
"Come 'ere," he said. "I'll boost ya up."
Carol looked at him, raising her eyebrows for a second. He smiled and waved her toward him a little.
"I'm serious," he said. "Crawl up on my back. I'll boost ya up sos ya can see better."
Carol looked like she was unsure of the entire idea, but he saw several people doing it and he knew she did too. She finally sighed and moved around behind him. He felt her arms go around his neck and she hopped up. He put his arms out quickly, catching her thighs and he hiked her up before bringing his hands together under her ass to hold her up.
Daryl felt like an idiot. Just the feeling of her soft hands arms wrapped around his shoulders and her legs wrapped around his waist had him threatening to go hard, and he realized that it wouldn't be so easy, given his extra load, to adjust himself in public, so he tried to will the sensation away.
He hardly paid even a moment's worth of attention to the passing parade. Everything seemed to blur in his mind and he didn't even know how long they were there, watching while poorly made floats and cars with hand painted signs rolled down the main street of the sad little town. The only thing Daryl could think about was the feeling of Carol pressed against his back, the skin of her legs rubbing on his arms as he held her in place.
"Am I OK?" Carol asked, breathing into his ear. He fought back a shiver. "I'm not too heavy am I?" She asked.
"No, ya ain't heavy at all," Daryl said.
She wasn't very heavy, but the truth was that he would have found any way he could to keep holding her there, even if she'd weighed enough to make his arms beg for mercy. He realized, standing there, the sounds of a few hundred voices screaming out their patriotic wishes to everyone around them, that he'd give anything for the stupid parade to last two days or three, just so she would stay there, pressed against his back, and he wouldn't have to look for any other excuse to touch her.
The parade ended though, finally, and she unwrapped her legs from him, dropping to the sidewalk. He hoped his face wasn't as flush as he thought it might be, just from the sinking feeling he felt of having to let her go. His arms ached, but he didn't care.
"Thanks," she said. She smiled at him.
"No problem," Daryl said.
He stood there, keeping her company, until everyone started to leave. He didn't know what else to say to her, so he just stood quietly by and listened to the scattered conversations of the people bunched around them. Finally, when much of the crowd had begun to disappear, Michonne bid them good evening, saying something about having to feed the girls and get them ready for bed.
Daryl watched as Carol bent down and nuzzled both the little girls. The youngest was sleeping, but the oldest smiled at her and reached out, pulling at her nose. Daryl could see that she was taken by the kids, and apparently they liked her.
"We're going too," Andrea said, touching Daryl on the shoulder. "We have a bottle of scotch and a date at the lake. Don't wait up." She winked at Daryl and waved at Carol. Merle didn't say anything, he just sauntered off down the sidewalk with Andrea, pushing through the people who still hadn't left.
"I guess it's time to head home," Carol said. "It'll be dark before too long and they'll start the fireworks."
"I'll walk ya home," Daryl said.
Carol looked at him like she was considering the offer. Daryl had already decided, though, that he was walking her home whether it led to anything or not. She wasn't going to be walking along down the sidewalks close to dusk, even if half the town was still wandering about.
"We live in the same damn place, woman," Daryl said, seeing Carol hesitating. She smiled finally.
"Fine, thank you for walking me," she said.
Daryl took a deep breath and tried to remember all the suggestions that Andrea had given him. He started forward and offered his arm to Carol. She looked at him, hesitated, and then finally looped her arm through his. He smiled to himself when she did.
By the time they'd walked, mostly in silence, back to the apartments, Daryl was feeling a little braver. He was also feeling like he didn't want the night to end. The sun was setting and it was a nice night with a light breeze. It was the kind of night that made him want to keep her near him. Just as they reached the edge of the parking lot, the first firework of the show in town wailed into the sky and cracked above their heads. Daryl felt Carol jump next to him. He smiled.
"Easy," he said. "Ain't nothin' but a firecracker."
"I wish they weren't so loud," Carol said. "They're so pretty to look at. I don't know why they had to make them too loud to enjoy."
Daryl thought about it for a minute, noticing her jump when the next one exploded.
"Ya like watchin' 'em?" He asked.
Carol smiled and nodded.
"They really are pretty. They're nicer on television though. You can turn the volume off," Carol said. Daryl took her hand in his then and led her over to where his old truck was parked, facing out to the street. He pulled her around opened the passenger side door. "What are you doing?" Carol asked.
"Hop in," Daryl said. Carol wrinkled her brow at him. He chuckled. "For God sakes woman, I ain't doin' nothin'. Hop the fuck in the truck."
Carol sighed and climbed into the old truck. Daryl stopped a moment, turning the crank on the window just enough to crack the glass. He closed the door and crossed around to the driver's side, repeating the action with the window and got in the truck.
Carol eyed him from across the seat. The fireworks flew up in the air. The cab of the truck, however, did a good job of softening the sound.
"Not too bad, huh?" Daryl asked, noticing that Carol was visibly relaxing a little.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "It's not bad at all."
"See?" Daryl said. "I get some pretty good ideas every once in a while."
Daryl slid over in the seat a little, craning his neck as though he were trying to see the fireworks better and the view was better out of Carol's side.
Eventually, she eased into him and he slid his arm around her shoulder and she leaned her head against his chest.
Daryl sat as still as he could. He was afraid to move for fear that she'd realize that she was sunk against him in the seat. He could smell her hair, and she curled down, brushing her cheek against his chest. He was trying to barely breathe, afraid that even the rise and fall of his chest could bring the closeness to an end before the fireworks ended.
Daryl didn't know how long they sat in the bed of the truck like that, watching the colorful bursts of light in the distance, but when it became clear that the show was done, he felt her shift. He turned his attention to her, her eyes glittering just a little in the light reflecting from the light post in the corner of the parking lot. He leaned into her, hoping for the best, and her soft lips met his.
For just a moment she responded to his kiss, her lips parting just enough to let his tongue trail into her mouth and gently flick the tip of hers. Then she pulled away, clearing her throat and sitting up, her hand going for the door.
"Thanks for the fireworks," she said. Daryl smiled at her.
"Thanks for watchin' 'em with me," he said.
Carol smiled and opened the truck door, getting out and slamming it shut before Daryl could slide across the seat and get out of his own door. He slammed it shut and followed a few feet behind her in the parking lot toward the poorly lit steps that led up to their apartments.
Outside the apartments, Carol bid him goodnight before quickly slipping into her apartment and Daryl lingered a moment before opening the door to his own. He didn't know, exactly, if this was what was supposed to happen, but it felt a lot better than it had when she wasn't speaking to him at all. With the taste of her kiss still on his lips, he pushed open the apartment door and slipped inside.