This chapter might be a little shorter but who knows? I might not include a memory-like a full blown 4 page memory or something like that-in this chapter because the memory I have had to come after what I have planned. So stay tuned for that, but I'll be sure to get that up as soon as possible. Enjoy.
Chapter 7
Twilight. Who the hell came up with that idea? What was the crazy person that came up with the idea that vampires are supposed to SPARKLE in the sun? Weren't they supposed to shrivel up and die and fall to dust in the sun? And weren't vampires supposed to, like, kill humans? Not marry them? This book made no sense.
Aria placed the book down and picks up her notebook, shaking her head. Why was she putting herself through the torture of even giving that book a chance? She still remembers when Judy had asked her to try it.
"Come on Aria! It's actually really good!" Aria rolls her eyes.
"The movies suck and people tell me so do the books." Judy sighs.
"Come on, man! I'll pay you ten bucks if you read the first few chapters! Fifty if you read the whole entire book!" Aria narrowed her eyes, staring at the book. Not thinking, she grabs the books out of her hands and squints at it. Looking back at Judy, she smirks.
"Make that ten a twenty and make that fifty a hundred." Judy glares at her.
"It's just a book!"
"Then I'm not reading it," Aria says, simply tossing the book back to Judy, who caught it clumsily. She glares at Aria even harder.
"Why won't you give it a chance?" she whines. Aria raises an eyebrow.
"Why don't you give Harry Potter a chance? They're way better then that piece of shit." Judy rolls her eyes, smiling slightly.
"Because I'm not into boy wizards and giant snakes. Plus, that Voldemort guy scares the crap out of me. I'd rather die then read about him."
"So you're more into a girl that has no emotion, a sparkling vampire that, when you think about it, is a pedophile because he wants a girl that's like, 300 years younger than him, and a werewolf who doesn't do anything but take off his shirt?" Judy nods, smiling sheepishly. Aria rolls her eyes again. "No taste in good literature," she mumbles, tucking her Stephen King book into her book bag. "Have you ever read 'The Shining?'"
Judy develops a confused look on her face. "That what?"
"Oh my God," Aria mumbles into her hands.
Aria chuckles at the memory. Her friend had never been that good with picking out books. But at times she wondered, when she actually was reading that stupid book, maybe somewhere Judy was reading 'Harry Potter.' She wished. She had no clue if her friend was alive or not.
Standing up, she glances down from the guard tower she had climbed up into. She wasn't even on watch, but every once and a while she would glance outside to see if any lurkers were around. Or walkers. That's what they called them.
She had seen her mother and Daryl leave to go on the raid earlier and smiled slightly at how they were completely alike. Both the same walking, talking, even hand gestures. They were EXACTLY alike. Aria wondered if her mother was still slightly pissed off after what happened three years ago, but judging from what she saw, it seemed like she forgot completely.
Then why weren't they together?
Fuck together. Why weren't they married by now?
This dude had been through everything with her mother. This dude had been around when Aria was a kid, all the time, and of course when Scarlett was a baby.
Scarlett.
She had lied.
She had gone off the charts and lied to the only person around her age in this fucked up world all because she was afraid to call conclusions. But in this world nothing made sense. So why couldn't she tell one person who Scarlett really was?
It was the apocalypse now. It wouldn't matter anyway. There wouldn't really be anyone to tell. So why was she keeping secrets? She wanted to wait for her mom to say ok, but if she didn't tell someone, then she was going to implode.
Scratch that. She wouldn't implode. She would explode. Everything would come out at once and she would regret it so much.
But should she tell someone?
She groans and leans against the railing of the tower, her head in her hands. She was so fucken conflicted all the time now. Nothing ever seemed easy. The only thing she wasn't conflicted about was if this world was going to ever go back to normal.
Yeah, right.
She leans back up and see's Scarlett in the field, playing tag with a bunch of the kids her age. For a little girl in this screwed up world, she was doing pretty good. Unlike her older sister who was slowly dripping to the edge of insanity.
She hears the hatch from the floor open and Aria glances down at Carl coming through it. He looks up at her surprised. "I didn't know you were in here." She shrugs.
"I came up here to escape I guess." He picks up the Twilight book and snorts.
"You actually read this?" She chuckles.
"No, I was dared to before all this, but never really did it. But I found it in a store one day and said 'Why the hell not?' Got nothing else better to do." Carl takes the notebook from the floor and looks inside. When he sees what's there, his eyes widen.
"You drew these?" he asks, amazed. She smiles, taking the book from his hands.
"Yeah," she says, proud. Inside were some very detailed sketches of the forest, a dead lurker, the prison yard, her mother reading. He laughs at the one of her mother.
"This is really good," he says. She smirks.
"Why, thank you, kind sir," she chuckles. He snickers back. But she shrugs and gives the book back to him to look at it. "I went to LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts back in New York, so the summer before I started I took some pretty hefty art class's. I was halfway through my freshman year when the shit hit the fan."
"Jeez, these are good," he whispers. "I've never seen a kid my age actually draw this well. The best I can do is a stick figure." She laughs, shaking her head.
"That was me in 5th grade. Not so much anymore," she chuckles. "But boy do I miss it. It was the best school ever!" He looks up from the notebook.
"What was the typical day for you?" he asks. She thinks for a second. It was so long since then.
"Well, I lived about eight minutes away, so I usually rode my bike but took the bus when it was cold. I woke up around seven then went at eight. School started at nine with ten half an hour periods. First was dance, then art, math, English, lunch, music, social studies, science, drama, and then a study hall. Dance and music was always my favorite."
"Wait, I thought you said it was a performing arts school? Why is there English and all that other crap?" She scoffs.
"Core curriculum. Every high school, no matter what, has to have those subjects for at least one year. Hated math, even though I did superb in it." He raises an eyebrow.
"How well did you do?" Thinking.
"When all of this started I had a 99 average overall."
"Jesus. I'd give anything to have that grade in math." She chuckles.
"Sad thing is I never even tried. I just went with it and I got good grades. Maybe I'm some genius or something. But my brain has yet to find that person," she says, knocking on her head. "No one's home right now. Come back and leave a message."
He smiles at this and looks back down at the notebook. "When my mom was still around she used to try to teach me school during this, but I just found it useless. I still went along with it though." She notices the sad tone in his voice and places a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up.
"I think it's useless too. But I'm pretty sure she had a legit reason to be teaching it to you. Maybe you need math to calibrate how to shoot a lurker or some shit like that." She snorts. "Yeah right. Thank God my mom ain't about that life." He smiles slightly and her very small southern accent.
"I hear a bit of an accent there." She smirks.
"I lived down here for six years. I guess it kind of stayed with me, even though it rarely ever comes out. I'm used to being a New Yorker thank you. Supporter of Yankees and all things bagels and pizza."
"You were in a performing arts school. Did you ever get privileges or something?" She nods.
"I've always been in performing arts schools since first grade. I've performed for the nutcracker in Lincoln Center, sang on Broadway, and even met some pretty famous people. Michael Jackson before he passed away. He was kind of weird."
"You've preformed on Broadway?" She nods again.
"Yup. I went to great schools. Mother was one of the best singers out there. She was the original wicked witch in Wicked. She was a dancer in Lincoln Center. She wanted to be this person who took over the city. And she did. It was always her dream since she was a kid. It was mine too. I always wanted to be this big-time Tony winner or Grammy winner. But now this all happened and that kind of went down the toilet so…" She sticks her thumbs down and makes a fart noise, causing him to laugh.
"I've never been to New York. My dad was supposed to take me one day but I highly doubt that will ever happen now." She shakes her head.
"Never say never. Maybe it won't be the glam it once was, but it'll still be there…at least I hope." She looks down. "Do you ever think this world will go back to normal?" she asks shyly. She knew it was a stupid question, but she had to ask someone.
He thinks for a second before replying, shaking his head. "I don't think it's ever going to go back to normal. The threat of these guys will always be on us. We're all infected, so unless someone miraculously comes up with a cure, we're all screwed when we die. But maybe there will be some sort of order that will make life a little easier to live with all of these walkers around. Then again, I'd be surprised if that happened. Government hasn't talked in forever. Maybe never will." He looks at her, who is now looking at him. "Then again, never say never," he grins, making her laugh. He looks back down at the book and turns to the page, surprised at what he sees "Who's the dude?"
She looks at the picture and her eyes widen. It was a picture of four people in Central Park. The two little girls were obviously Aria and Scarlett, and the older woman their mother, but there was also a man standing next to Anna, holding her hand as the kids played.
She takes the notebook and shuts it, holding it close to her heart. "Whoa, sorry if I-"
"No, its fine," she says quickly, shaking her head. "That picture just brings back memories."
"Good ones?" he asks. She smiles.
"Really good ones." He leans closer, his hands in his pockets.
"Well, who is the dude exactly?" She bites her lip, thinking again. Should she tell him? It would feel so good to say it to someone.
"Carl, I lied a little about my life before the other day," she says. His brow furrows.
"About what?" She finally looks at him, her eyes determined.
"Can you keep a secret?"
(WDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW)
Anna and Daryl were about a few minutes away from the mall. The ride had been in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. Anna had the window open, the wind blowing the hair away from her face, and her eyes would close in pleasure. She loved having a window open.
"Jesus, yer like a dog," Daryl teases. Anna turns to him and sticks out her tongue.
"So? Dogs are loyal companions and have eternal love for anyone. Even if you kick them around and torture them until they can't stand, they'll always love you." He smirks at that.
"Sounds like ya," he snickers. She gasps and punches his shoulder, causing him to chuckle. "That the best ya got, princess?" She glares at him and turns away, looking back out the window.
"I'll get you one day," she mumbles under her breath as the mall comes into view. She smiles and looks at him. "This is the place."
He drives up and stops in one of the many open parking spots. Anna opens the door and is almost immediately met by a lurker. Quickly, she took out one of knives and stabs it into its head, killing it instantly. A second later she sees and arrow whiz past her head into a lurker behind her. Turing around, she sees one on the ground, the arrow in its head. Daryl walks around her and pulls the arrow out. She smiles at him. "Thanks, Daryl," she says.
"Not gonna let ya die yet," he groans, reloading his crossbow. She walks forward through the parking lot, taking out any of the things near her, and when she reaches the door, opens it for Daryl to get inside and closes it behind her.
The mall was loaded. It was two stories. Where they were, there was a food court and a ton of boutiques, but also drug stores and little kiosks. And it all had electricity. "There had to be a generator that's still pumping downstairs."
"All I know is that this place is our savior," Daryl mumbles, walking over to one of the food stands. He takes one of the chip bags and throws it to Anna and then takes one for himself. He waves them in front of her. "Still remember these?" she scoffs.
"Why wouldn't I? You used to eat these every day after school," she says, handling the Doritos bag in her hand, popping it open. "Beside, you're the one who turned me on to these," she says, popping one in her mouth. She waves her hand to the drugstore. "The supplies from your list is in there. The stuff I have is in this general area."
"Ya keep that ass safe, ya hear?" he says, walking over to the store. She chuckles.
"I'll be fine," she says, turning around and walking into the store she wasn't even supposed to go to. Apple.
She walks in sneakily and sees all the things behind the counter. Smiling, she takes one of the old iPhones and starts it up, amazed these things still exist. She tucks the charger in her pocket, because there were certain parts of her car she could charge it with, and puts the phone in her other. She missed these so much.
She walks out of the store and looks at the list that she was given. Aria asked for sunglasses, Scarlett for some Velcro sneakers, making Anna roll her eyes, Hershel for some new pants, Beth wanted a new tank…almost everything seemed to be clothes on her list.
Of course Rick would give the clothes list to her.
She chuckles lightly and walks in the direction of the Macy's near the end of the hall, her knife out, stabbing any lurkers in the head. Always had to be the head. She still remembers when all of this happened.
"Mama? What's going on?" Aria asked from her room, a backpack on her back. Scarlett ran out of hers and came to her mommy, pulling her shirt.
"Mommy, I'm scared!" Anna leans down and pecks her head.
"It'll be ok, sweetie. We'll get out of here." She had to see if her family was ok. She thinks quickly and pulls up a map on her phone. "Aria! We're heading down south again." The daughters eyes widened, and Anna could see a glimmer of hope in the 14 year olds eyes.
"Will we see-"
"I don't know sweetie. Maybe," she says. "I haven't talked to him since Tuesday. I don't know where he is right now." A small part of Anna hoped she would see him again. But another small part was still slightly pissed that he wasn't back yet.
"Mama!" Scarlett screams. Anna turns around and sees one of those things hovering over Scarlett, it's mouth wide open, ready to bite into the 5 year olds delicious skin. Anna takes out her gun and shoots it straight in the head. The blood splattered on Scarlett, terrifying her. "Mama!" she cries, tears slipping down her face.
Anna comes closer to her and takes her up in her arms. "It's ok, girl. It's gonna be ok."
"You shot that man," she whimpers.
"He wasn't well…Aria, unlock the car!" The teenager nods and gets the keys, unlocking the car quickly as the three of them piled into the car, Anna hitting the gas pedal and speeding off where there wasn't any traffic. She knew these routes by now.
Aria leans her head against the seat, while Scarlett stares back at the panic and the fading silhouette of NYC. "Mom," Aria sighs.
"Yeah, Ari?" she asks.
"I think it's the end times," she chuckles slightly. And for some reason this made Anna laugh as well, memories coming back to her.
"I agree," she chuckles, driving off into the highway.
It had been a year now. They were still alive and kicking. Aria was an ass-kicking machine who wasn't afraid to try new things. Scarlett was learning how to survive yet still be a little kid at the same time. Both girls were a year older.
And they had found him.
Granted, it was a year later, but they had found him.
She shakes her head and walks into the Macys, heading straight for the men's department to pick up the pants for Hershel. She picks out a pair of tan ones, moving on to the next section, which was little girls.
The Velcro shoes she picked were purple with black Velcro, which Anna knew that she would like. Her favorite color was purple. She always wore a purple headband.
The sunglasses she picked were some cheap ones, but they would suit for Aria. She never focused on the quality. She just wanted to look cool. She wanted to be a bad ass, and she thought having sunglasses would help.
Please. To be a badass you need a leather jacket. That's when you're a badass.
She walks over to the juniors section of get the stuff for Beth and stops at the party dresses, a smile on her face. She walks over and touches a red one that had a flowing bottom and was strapless. Seeing it brought back more memories of senior year, making her laugh.
"Anna, why are ya draggin' me to this?" Daryl whines as she drags her friends hand towards the Macys. She chuckles, waving her other hand.
"Because you love me and you will help me judge!" He rolls his eyes.
"Don't love ya that much to be helping ya with prom. Not going, remember?" She turns around and faces him, her hands on her hips.
"I don't care if you're going to be pranking the god damn principal of the school, which you have done. You will help me pick out t a dress. Besides, none of my girls are around to help, so you're my last option." He frowns but sighs.
"Princess," he grumbles. She smiles.
"And damn proud of it!" She takes his hand and drags him into the juniors section, him cringing as she surged them through a line of girls fighting over a dress.
"This is gonna be my hell on earth," he says.
"I thought I already was?" she teases.
"Yer a close second." She snorts, shaking her head. She plops him down in a chair and he raises an eyebrow at her.
"I already have three dresses on hold. You tell me which one if better, k? And don't fake it. I can tell when you fake it." She disappears into the dressing room while he crosses his arms, grumbling under his breath.
Why did he get himself into this?
Oh right, this was Anna.
She came out, the first two dresses having gotten a no. She places on the next dress, which was almost knee length, strapless, and a dark red color. When she steps out, he sits up straighter a bit more, mumbling 'wow' under his breath.
She certainly wasn't the ten year old girl he had met years ago anymore.
"How does it look?" she asks, examining herself in the mirror. I mean, I think it's pretty good, but maybe I can make some-"
"It's perfect," he says, interrupting her. She smiles at him. "That's the outfit." She sighs, looking back at the mirror.
"Good, because this was the dress I wanted." She looks back at him, grinning. "Thanks, Daryl. This actually helped." She's silent for a second. "You know, you could come to prom with me if you like. Even though you're older then everyone, you're still a part of the class. It would be fun." He snorts.
"Don't wear suits. Don't dance."
"Oh, that's a lie!" she says, going back into the room. He snickers, shaking his head. But she wasn't completely wrong. He only danced around her though. Not around those other creepy 18 year olds.
She takes a shaky breath wipes the tears from her face that were coming. She missed that. She missed him. She missed the life she had, the calling when he was gone, the jokes and laughs.
So why was there still a small part of her that was holding her back?
"Anna, are ya ok?" She spins around and sees Daryl standing there, a concerned look on his face. "You've be crying," he says, wiping her tears away. She looks down.
"I'm fine," she mumbles. He takes her hand.
"Anna-"
"Daryl, you left," she finally says, looking back up. "To take care of your father. The man who BEAT YOU SENSELESS! Do you know how heartbroken I felt? Aria was a mess. Scarlett was just wondering where you went because you were always around her. It was so…weird, not having you around. It didn't feel natural, and it was all to take care of your good for nothing parent!"
"I kept in contact all the time," he says back.
"That's not enough. That's never enough!" She backs away from him and crosses her arms over her chest. "I wanted to wake up beside you again! To feel your arms around me and to kiss me in the morning! I wanted you there and you just-left. For two years. And, I talked to you all the time, but it was never the same. And when I saw you in the woods that day I felt such a wave of joy over me that I saw you, even though you looked completely different," she chuckles a bit at the end. "But the fact that you left…I just-"
"It was the help Merle, Anna. I hated that man with a passion, but I couldn't just leave Merle alone with him. But it was a stupid mistake. It hurt so much not be around ya." He comes closer and grabs her hand again. "Around ya, and Aria, and Scarlett. Even the damn dog." He snickers quietly. "That stupid dog."
"That dog loved you," she replies, smiling softly. "But I just…Scarlett, Daryl. She was so confused when you left. She thought she did something bad to make you leave." His brow furrows.
"She did?" he asks. She nods, a small half smile on her face. A few tears slipped out of her eyes and he wiped them away, not wanted to see her cry again.
"She did…Daryl, you're her daddy…you're part of the reason she's even around…she even called you that by accident after she left…and she still doesn't know. She thought she made a mistake…" He smiles down at her.
"She called me daddy?" he asks softly. She nods.
"Yeah," she chuckles. "She thought it was just a slip of the tongue. But she was right…I should have told her. She said she wanted you to be her daddy. Those girls…especially Scarlett…love you more then life. And when you left they were crushed." She chuckles slightly before continuing. "Aria even asked when you were gonna pop the question."
"She would, wouldn't she?" he snickers. She laughs softly, nodding.
"Yeah, she would." She finally looks into his blue eyes, and she can tell they're filled with love, something she only saw when she looked into him. She sighs. "I love you…I missed you so much," she whispers, her forehead now against his, eyes closed. He snickers again.
"Bout time ya admit that…I love ya, too," he says back softly. And finally, he leans in and connects his lips to hers, something he had wanted to do since he saw her again.
Her arms wrap around his neck, pulling him closer to her as his wrap around her waist, his hold on her tightening. Fireworks went off everywhere, and Anna smiles into the kiss, happy that this was finally happening. Imagine the look on Carol's face if she saw this.
Sooner or later, the kiss got more and more passionate, and she was soon pushed up against the nearest wall, her hands now tangled in his hair. He moves his lips from hers down her neck, sucking on some spots and nipping, making her moan in pleasure, when a sudden thought comes up. "Shouldn't we be getting the food we need?" she chuckles slightly.
He snorts and comes up, their eyes connecting for a second, and she see's the mischievous in his eyes again, the on she loved so much. "Screw the food. They can wait." And his lips connected with hers again.
Holy shit that took me long. Longest chapter yet. And THEY FINALLY KISSED. I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO WRITE THIS SCENE ALL DAY. Maybe that's why I couldn't concentrate on my test today. XD Hope you enjoyed! Review!