Two sets of feet dangled from a branch high up in a tree. Laughter could be heard throughout the forest echoing of the trees, alerting every animal within a 100 foot radius that there were humans in the area.
"I couldn't sleep for a week after watching 'The Exorcist,'" Anna remarked to Daryl, leaning against the tree trunk. "It scared the shit out of me." He snorts.
"That movie isn't that scary," he replies, rolling his eyes. She scoffs.
"Oh yeah? And what is the scariest movie you ever watched? Alien?" she teases. He glares at her.
"Ya know I hate that movie," he grumbles. She thinks for a second.
"What about 'The Shining?'"
"That's not really scary. That more or less messes with your brain. It didn't scare me as much as I thought it would." She throws her hands up in the air, annoyed.
"Does anything scare you? Jesus!" He chuckles at her reaction.
"I don't get scared that easily. What about ya?" he asks. She looks at him, and she sees a hint of amusement in his eyes. She smirks.
"Why?" she asks. He shrugs.
"Just want to know," he replies. She humfs, looking out towards the forest, silent for a second before replying.
"Spiders," she mumbles. Oh, but he hears. And he laughs. Loud. "Shut up!"
"You're afraid of spiders?!" he laughs out. She frowns.
"I hate them and all their eight legs. Oh, I shouldn't have told you that!" she whines, resting her head on her knees. "You're gonna find a spider and put it in my hair or something!" He shakes his head, but he still has the grin on his face.
"No I'm not gonna do that," he chuckles, relaxing against the tree again. She rolls her eyes.
"Of course you won't," she mumbles. The two are silent for a few minutes, but it's a comfortable silence, the sounds of the animals around them, talking to each other. He speaks up first, surprising her.
"It wasn't making fun of ya, ya know? I just thought that it was funny that a brave girl like ya are afraid of such small things that mean nothing." She realizes he's trying to say sorry. Chuckling a little, she waves her hand.
"It's fine, Daryl. A lot of people laugh at first. I've gotten used to it," she replies. She decides to pay him back with another. "I'm afraid of falling out of this tree. I feel like the branch is going to snap at any time. And I really don't want to be the victim of a tree falling." He chuckles a bit at her statement.
"Used to hate climbing tree's too. Now it's one of my main hobbies." She smiles.
"Don't get me wrong, I love climbing trees, just not hanging on a branch, from really high, probably risking my life." Both laugh again before Anna asks another question. "How'd you do on the History test?" He's silent for a second before replying.
"90." She cheers, making him chuckle.
"You seem to be really good at history. I'm surprised by that." He looks at her with a confused expression.
"Why?" She shrugs.
"I guess I just didn't peg you as a guy who likes history, let alone get a 90 on the Civil War test. I'm impressed. You're doing a lot better this year for some strange reason." He scoffs.
"'For some strange reason'? Maybe I'm just smart, ever think of that in yer little head?" he said, poking her on the forehead. She laughs, moving his hand away.
'I didn't mean it like that, dummy. I'm just saying I'm proud of you. You went from dropout to actual student, and you're doing good in your classes. That's all that matters right now."
"You're still little miss valedictorian." She laughs.
"I'm not valedictorian, I'm just really smart. Why do you think I tutored you? Then again, you taught me how to hunt without my parents knowing. God, I would love to see the look on my mothers face if she saw how I was with a shotgun. She'd probably drop dead into her grave right then and there!" she laughs. "Boy, would I pay to see that!" He chuckles slightly.
"Your parents are way too strict. Do they ever let ya out besides go to Lily's house?" he asks. He had met Lily a while back and was surprised at how open she was about his and Anna's friendship. She was actually nice to him. She shakes her head.
"Nowhere. And of course, half the time I sneak out to go see you." He snorts again.
"What would your parents think if they saw ya with me?" She laughs immediately.
"Ha! If my dad saw me with you, he would shoot you. But if my mom saw us-oh God, I don't even want to think about that. She would probably do more than just shoot you. She would beat you to the ground. She's heard about your family, your brother. Tells me to stay away from you," she says, rolling her eyes.
"Why don't ya?"
"I never listen to my mom. She never lets me have fun. If I did, I would have never talked to you back in 4thgrade. Now look at me, I'm climbing trees and almost falling to my death. Thanks Daryl," she says sarcastically, making him snicker slightly. "No, but seriously. If it wasn't for you, I probably would be the person I am today. I love being this girl who can be girly, but can also kick butt and shoot a gun. And be cool enough to hang out with a Dixon." He shakes his head.
"We ain't cool, that's for sure." Anna frowns.
"Yeah you are. If you weren't, you wouldn't be best friends with someone whosefive years younger than you." He smirks at that remark. "So shut up. You're cool, at least to me." He smiles at her and she smiles back. "Hey, did you hear about that party at the barn on Lilfield Lane?" He nods, looking back out at the forest.
"Yeah, and didn't someone call the cops or something?" She nods, but a serious look comes over her face, leaning in closer.
"Yeah, because it was CRAZY. And I heard in the news that an eighth grade girl was RAPED at the party out near the backyard! I just…can't anymore! I completely hate everyone." He nods, agreeing.
"Yer not the only one," he replies. She snickers a little.
"Let's move to Mars, then. Get the hell out of here." She suggests. He chuckles.
"Ya got the rocket ship?" She nods, a huge smile on her face.
"Lets go, right now," she laughs. He shakes his head.
"In your dreams, Anna." She pushes his shoulder.
"Hey! A girl can dream!" she laughs. He pushes her shoulder back, but this time he did it with a little too much force. She loses her grip on the tree and starts to slip, but before she can scream and fall down, he quickly wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her back up, chuckling a little, and lets her get her balance back on the tree before letting her go. She glares at him. "DARYL DIXON YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!" she says, pounding his chest.
"Hey, I just saved ya! No thanks?" he asks, a mocking sad tone. She glares at him again, crossing her arms, and rolling her eyes.
"You're such a pest," she remarks.
"But yet ya still stick around," he replies. She chuckles.
"I'm questioning why now!" she yells, but laughter seeped out. She couldn't deny it. She could pretend all she wanted, but she could never leave him. He's just too damn attached now. And she liked that.
Present
Annabelle was the first one to wake up the next morning. Her eyes opened droopily, trying to adjust to the sunlight coming into the tent. She made to move but felt something around her body, keeping her firmly in place. She looks down and rolls her eyes. Daryl had his arms latched around her, holding her close to his body. And something told her he wasn't going to be waking up any time soon unless she woke him.
For a moment, she simply stayed in that position, staring at his face. He seemed so peaceful in his sleep, younger looking, like he didn't have a care in the world. His hair fell into his face, and Anna couldn't help but think 'He looks cute, but he reallyneeds a haircut.'
She knew he would never hurt her. He had been the one with her throughout some very painful times in her past.
Those memories pained her endlessly, even years later. She closes her eyes to give rid of them. She was not going to think of that. Not right now.
She makes to slyly sneak out of his arms and out of the tent so she could go wake up Aria and Scarlett, but failed in doing so, only resulting in her being pulled closer to him, his grasp tightening. She chuckles slightly at this, but realizes she really needed to get up and wake up the girls. She had to wake him up.
"Daryl," she says, shaking his shoulder gently. "Daryl, wake up." He grumbles in his sleep. She chuckles again. "Daryl," she whines slightly.
"Five more minutes," he groans. 'God, like a fucking high schooler,' she thinks, rolling her eyes.
"Daryl, I have to wake Aria and Scarlett up."
"Then go do it," he says back. She raises an eyebrow, obviously realizing he doesn't even know he had his arms around her.
"I would, but the fact that your arms are wrapped tightly around me is preventing myself from doing just that." Instantly his eyes snap open and looks down. She chuckles as he actually blushes and removes his arms.
"Sorry," he mumbles. She smiles.
"Yet again, it's fine. Just lighten up on the grip a bit, Casanova." She gets up from the bed, snickering as she sees the piercing glare sent her way. He hated that name. Good. Payback for calling her princess. She walks out of the tent and to the one about ten feet away.
While looking up at the sky, she could tell it was around eight AM. She smiles. No wonder she felt refreshed. She has woken up a little later.
Unzipping the tent, she steps inside to find Scarlett asleep, all arms and legs on the bed, her breathing nice and soft, while Aria had all her body parts spread out in different directions, and from what Anna could see, she had a bit of drool streaming down her mouth.
She chuckles at the two polar opposites. Walking over to Scarlett, she gently shakes her awake. "Scarlett, baby, it's time to wake up, ok?" Her eyes open and she yawns sleepily at her mother.
"Ok, mommy," she replies, rubbing her eyes. Anna smiles at her and walks over to the older of the girls. She touches her shoulder, trying to wake her up, knowing she'd be a bit more of a handful.
"Ari, wake up. It's time to get up," she says. Aria groans.
"Five more minutes." Anna chuckles. 'She and Daryl are so alike in so many ways.'
"Aria, you have to get up," Anna persists.
"Why?" she replies, her head going deeper into her pillow. Anna thinks for a second, and an idea popped into her head.
"Because Daryl's taking us back to his group." Her head popped up and she was awake, a huge smile on her face.
"Really?!" she asks excitedly. Scarlett comes running over, hearing what her mother just said.
"Really, mama?" Anna smiles at her daughters.
"Yes he is. But only if you get ready."
"On it!" Aria says, jumping out of bed and pulling Scarlett over to their bags. Anna smiles and gets out of the tent, zipping up for the girls privacy. When she turns back, Daryl is outside the tent with his crossbow, staring at Anna. She smiles at him.
"What?"
"Those girls are so much like ya," he chuckles. "I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing." She laughs.
"They're like you, too. Aria literally just said 'Five more minutes,' as well. Then again, you were always around when she was a kid. Which I still can't thank you enough for."
"Anna, we're not getting into this now," he says sternly. Anna laughs, nodding, putting her hands up in surrender.
"Ok, I won't say anything. Now, we're heading back to your group. So when the girls are ready and everything we go? Wait…did you actually walk all the way out here or-"
"Take a car?" he finished. "Car, but that's about a mile out, so that's gonna be a jog. Hope ya and your batch full of princess' can handle it," he teases. She sneers at him.
"We'll be fine. And stop calling me that!" she yells, causing him to laugh.
The girls had made the mile back the car, but when they actually arrived. The two girls were exhausted."Why'd you have to park so far away, Daryl?" Aria whines, leaning against ehs die of the car. "You couldn't park it a little closer?" she says, taking her index finger and thumb, making a small space in between them.
"I can't just drive my car through the forest without crashing into trees," he chuckles. "Besides, we're still alive. I warned your mama that it wouldn't be fun." Anna glares at him from where she was helping Scarlett with her shoes, whose shoelaces kept coming untied.
"You didn't tell me that there were a ton of hills and cliffs!" She looks back at Scarlett. "You shoud have least told me that."
"I thought ya knew," he says, shrugging his shoulders. She rolls her eyes and picks up Scarlett, placing her in one of the seats in the back.
"Never just assume. And I'm pretty sure you're the person who told me that." She closes the door and steps into the passenger seat. "You should take your own advice."
"I agree with my mother," Aria says from the backseat, buckling up her seatbelt.
"At least ya gained a bit of muscle in those scrawny legs of yours from hiking up the hills." Her eyes narrow, a sly smirk on her face.
"Yeah? Drive. Before I smack you." He snickers quietly, turning the key, starting the car, and placing it in drive.
Sooner or later, they were on the road and on the way to the prison. Aria and Scarlett were unusually quiet, which kind of made Anna nervous. They always talked during car rides.
Fifteen minutes in, Anna looks into the backseat and smiles. Both of the girls had fallen asleep again, Scarlett's head leaning slightly on Aria's shoulder.
"Oh, I wish I had a camera right now," she snickers, leaning back in her seat. She's silent for a moment before speaking up again, something that was on her mind. "Daryl, do you really think the group will take us in?"
"If they even think about saying no, I'll have a nice long chat with them," he replies. "You'll be fine, Anna. And if they don't accept you, for whatever strange reason, they'll be losin' me too." Her brow furrows.
"You've been with these people for a year. You would easily walk away that quickly?"
"I've known ya for twenty. Ya beat them." She chuckles slightly. "These people have been through a lot with me, but there's no way I'm lettin' ya go back out into this world with just the kids. Not alone." She smiles for a second, looking out the window.
"You're amazing, you know that?" she says. Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees him nod.
"Yeah, we've addressed this plenty of times." She scoffs, shaking her head.
"I take it back now," she laughs.
Sooner or later, the car pulled up to the gates of the prison, and Anna was automatically nervous. She had seen it from some distance, but never this close. And from what Daryl told her, she was also afraid of these people slightly.
When the gates open, she keeps her head down, trying not to attract attention, at least not immediately. Daryl turns to her. "Don't say anything, just let me do the talkin'"
"I was already intending on doing that," she mumbles, turning around to the backseat. "Guys we're here. Wake up!" Aria shoots up, waking Scarlett in the process. Both glance outside.
"Damn, this place is huge!" Aria says, glancing at the huge building. "I've never seen it up close before!"
Annabelle smiles and steps out of the car, heading to Scarlett's door, but was automatically met with a young man pointing a shotgun at her face. She freezes in her actions. Daryl see's this and comes to her rescue.
"Put the gun down, Glenn. She's harmless." The man was reluctant, but he lowered the gun, and Anna let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.
"Mom, are you ok?" Aria asks, coming to her side, who had seen the whole ordeal. She nods.
"I'm fine, Ari." Anna opens the door and takes Scarlett in her arms, getting her out of the car, who was a little weepy and seeing her mommy threatened. "I'm fine, sweetie. Nothing's hurt."
She sees two people coming down the way to where the car was to talk to Daryl. 'Let him do the talking,' she reminded herself.
"Who the hell is this?" a woman with short graying hair asks Daryl. The other person with her, a man, places a hand in front of her to stop her from going off. He looks at Daryl.
"We've already taken in so many people, Daryl. I don't think-"
"We're not lettin' her go, Rick." 'So this is Rick,' Anna thought. Said man looks at her, and then notices the two kids next to her, first the teenager, then the six year old.
"Those her kids?" he asks. Daryl nods. "Do you know her?" Rick asks. He nods again, but this time with a small, very small, half smile on his face. "Who is she?"
"An old friend." Anna smiles at him, but the gray haired woman steps up.
"Daryl, she could be working for the Governor-"
"She doesn't even know who that bastard is," he interrupts. "And don't say she could be lying. I've known her for twenty years. I can tell when she's lying or not." The woman's eyes seemed to widen slightly when he mentioned that he knew her for that long.
"It's true," Anna says from behind, attracting the attention of the two. "He's caught me in plenty of lies before." Rick's silent for a minute, considering her. He speaks up again.
"She can stay, but you're deciding where exactly. What's her name?" Anna smiles. 'Thank God,' she thinks.
"Annabelle."
"And the kids?"
"The older one is Aria, younger is Scarlett." Rick nods, and the stern look on his face is replaced by one of welcome, while the gray haired lady looks down, annoyed that they were letting her in.
"Welcome to the prison."
WHOA THAT TOOK ME LONGER THEN EXPECTED! XD I did not think it would take that much time. Then again, the first two chapters I was up until one am in the morning to write, so I figured I could use some sleep. XD But Anna and the kids are at the prison now! I'm excited to work her storyline into the people at the prison. I have an interesting one for her andCarol(even saying her name makes me cringe)
But I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you didn't, sorry, half the time I was close to falling asleep. XD And walking dead comes back in less than a month! ^-^ WHO'S EXCITED? THIS GIRL! Review!