A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews, favorites and follows! I truly appreciate it all and seeing them really makes my day. I'm trying to write at a quicker pace for you guys, I really am!

Enjoy!

There he was again, at the same table as before. There was nothing in his hands today, which was a little bit weird, she thought, because what the hell was he doing there anyway? People watching? Either way, she figured it couldn't hurt to ask him if he knew anything about her journal (she'd picked up a new one that morning but that didn't mean she was giving up on finding her first). Leave no stone unturned.

His eyes were wide and a bit crazy; Beth wasn't sure if she had scared him or caught him in the middle of something but she didn't really care. He had been a bit of a jerk to her the other day so he didn't deserve her concern anyway. "Hi... sorry to interrupt your Danish studying or whatever you're doing today, but do you remember seeing a journal the other day? I lost it here. Or something."

The man continued to stare at her, his eyes shifting into narrow slits as a scowl took over his lips. "Don't know what you're talkin' 'bout," was all he mumbled, tugging his jacket around his torso. Beth sighed, heavily, and gave a roll of her eyes. Like he would've been of any help, anyway. Some people nowadays were just anything but neighborly.

"Thanks," she replied flatly, turning and meandering away down one of the aisles. Her eyes flew from book spine to book spine, pointlessly hoping she'd stumble upon a blank blue one. She'd only made it down about one-fourth of the way when she heard his low voice.

"What's the big deal 'bout a journal?" Beth wasn't sure why he was initiating any kind of conversation with her. A few days prior, she would have happily obliged him by answering his question and giving him her direct attention but in that moment, she was too flustered. Her thoughts and theories were out there somewhere; she didn't have time to waste on people like him.

"That's really none of your business." Her voice was unusually cold, even if she could feel her cheeks heating up. He had the audacity to snort.

"You're the one who asked for my help."

"I didn't ask for your help, I just asked if you had seen it." He had wandered closer to her and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. There was something about him that left her feeling a little unsettled but she refused to let him know that. Rolling back her shoulders, she continued her search through the rows of books. Silence took over but she could hear him still shuffling somewhere behind her.

"What's it look like?" I should just bite off his head, she mused, licking over her lips before glancing back at him. He was letting his own eyes roam over the books on the other side of the aisle.

"It's plain, slim. Steel blue cover." He finally met her gaze, his eyebrows drawn together. Beth might have laughed if she hadn't still felt a little on edge around him.

"The fuck is steel blue?"

"It's a color..." The man didn't reply but he continued sifting through with his eyes; Beth finally picked up her own searching, though somewhat distracted. He disappeared around the corner and into the next aisle and she found herself staring at him through the small gaps and holes left between the shelves and books. His expression was serious, too long of hair continually falling into his eyes and she wanted him to flick his head in order to toss it back, but he never did. He was almost handsome, in a grungy kind of way.

She wanted to ask him what he was doing here, why he was helping her all of a sudden, but she couldn't find her voice in the moment. Glancing down at the too big pink watch on her wrist, she knew she had to be heading over to work. Carol had been having some troubles at home and Beth offered to pull more hours for a while to help her out.

Rounding the corner, she awkwardly pulled on a strap of her short overalls and cleared her throat to get his attention. "Um, thanks for helping me look. I mean, if you were looking, I don't know if you were, I just kinda assumed..." she trailed off, causing him to raise an eyebrow. She could almost swear he was smirking too and it did nothing to stop her from blushing. The guy sure left her with a really strange feeling. "But yeah, I need to get going." She averted her eyes from his steely gaze, nearly missing his words as she brushed past him in the aisle.

"'re welcome."

What a fucking idiot. Daryl knew he should have fessed up immediately, returned the stupid journal, and apologized for being a dick and taking it in the first place. He just couldn't find it in himself in that moment to admit to doing something so moronic. The girl was obviously distraught over the thing and he was playing dumb like the dumbass he truly was. The book seemed to burn a hole through his jacket and he couldn't wait till he at the site of his new job to get the thing off his person. Working with his hands, focusing on measurements and design, it was a welcomed distraction from everything else in his life. Not just B. Greene, but his brother too. He actually ended the day with a half-smile on his face (which was more than what he wore most of the time). When he arrived home though, Merle was there, which put a bit of a dampener on things.

"Little brother, where you been? Got some work for us t'do tonight," the elder Dixon crooned, managing to pull himself from the couch to stalk over to his brother.

"I ain't getting involved again, Merle," Daryl stated, doing his best to sound firm in his decision. He knew that wouldn't keep his brother from pushing him though; nothing was every that easy with him.

"What, that last scuffle shake you up? Thought I raised you tougher'n that, Darlina." Merle let out a hearty laugh at the sight of Daryl's annoyed expression. "Just gotta make sure folks hold up their end of the deals we make and I could use someone having my back. Ain't that what family's for, anyway? Having your back?"

Normally the guilt would've eaten away at Daryl; he had grown so used to bending over backwards for his brother because Merle was really all he had. But the past few months, things had gotten much heavier, and Daryl was anything but keen on it. As much as he didn't want to see his brother in trouble, he knew it was a slippery slope if he got too involved. Merle took his silence as answer enough.

"Fine then, got some buddies I can lean on. Enjoy your ladies' night."

His words stung a bit because no matter the circumstance, Daryl hated seeing Merle in a bad situation. It's not like his brother would listen to any kind of reasoning though, and Daryl knew the routine. Merle had to make his own damn mistakes and pay his own prices. He hadn't learned his lesson his whole life, he wasn't gonna start now; he wasn't ever gonna learn.

Daryl knew he should turn in early; his body ached in a nice way and he was letting Carl tag along with him to work tomorrow (with the a-okay from the homeowners he was working for), so he knew he'd be spent come punch out time. But his mind was not so easily turned off.

With the quiet of the apartment and the easiness of nighttime, the blonde girl from the library crept back into his mind. His stomach twisted at the thought of her, but not over his actions a few days back. She was a pretty thing, even when regarding him with a look of disdain. Her hair was shiny and curled, and he can't forget the sliver of skin he caught between the back of her overalls and the hem of her cropped shirt beneath them. That was why his stomach kept knotting itself up; not only was he a jackass, he deemed himself a creep too.

Hair of the dog, he reasoned with himself, laying back on his bed and pulling out her journal. Her steel blue journal. He had to laugh a little.

Maggie's not the same. I suppose none of us are, after everything that happened; I know I'm certainly not. But I can see it in her eyes, when she finds the will to look at me, that something struck her deeper. This thing, it's complicated, and her not opening up to me is so painful because I want to help. I want to help her and I want to help Glenn but I get the feeling that they think I won't be able to do anything. And maybe I won't, who knows the crap that they've gotten themselves into, but I still have a right to know after I because a part of it. I use that argument on her but that's not why I want to know; I'm glad I'm involved though, because it gives me reason to question her, them, even if they aren't cracking just yet.

Starting new is strange but I suppose it has its perks. It gives me a chance to take all my random thoughts and ramblings and make something of them, on a clean slate. Maybe then things will make more sense. Maybe there isn't much sense to be made at all. Perhaps I let my mind take off and go places that are so ridiculously absurd and I lost sight of how things really are. There's still kindness, goodness, in the world, even if it doesn't always present itself in a front and center fashion. Maybe starting over was what I needed to pull back and really look at my life and the world around me. Maybe everything that dies some day comes back.

Beth set down her pen and looked up from her writing in her new purple covered journal, humming the song her words threw into her head. She could see Glenn and Maggie through the doorway of her bedroom, whispering to each other, leaned against the kitchen counter. Maggie smiled and it was an easy one, natural, and the sight of it filled Beth's chest with a warmth she hadn't experienced in a long time. She had spent the whole afternoon with her sister, talking about the wedding and debating which kind of cake reigned supreme. It had been a while since Beth had felt so connected with Maggie and she cherished the day. She hadn't even been tempted to prod the older Greene for any more information on that night.

"I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Maggie was suddenly in her doorframe, smiling softly. Beth just nodded and waved goodbye, catching Glenn doing the same over her sister's shoulder. Yeah, maybe she had gotten a bit caught up in the notion that they were hiding something from her. Curiosity still ran rampant inside her and she worried for their well-being, enough so to peer out her window and watch them on the sidewalk below, disappearing into Glenn's car. Something wasn't right but things seemed to have settled for now and she had faith that in time, in their own time, they would fill her in.

Daryl's eyes had been growing heavy and it was useless for him to fight sleep. He nodded off with the journal splayed across his chest but the blast of the phone ringing woke him right up. He didn't know who'd be calling, hardly anyone had the number, and looking at the clock, he was even more annoyed. It was too damn late for anyone to be prank calling, if that was the case.

"What?" he all but growled into the receiver.

"Need your ass at Peachtree and Linden." Merle's voice was full of static and Daryl could hear the rumble of a passing car. He must have been at some payphone downtown.

"Fuck off, Merle, I told ya I'm not a part of it."

"I ain't askin' you to back me, ya pansy, I need a ride. Hunted down the Chinese kid and then Martinez took off, left me stranded." Daryl groaned, turning around to look at the clock again, the cord of the phone tangling him up. He had to be heading to work in a few hours.

"Fine, hold tight."