Jesus, Broncos. That was TERRIBLE. Good thing I was cheering for the Seahawks since the beginning. I seriously thought that the Broncos were going to win. Guess I was wrong. And OMG less then a week guys! I just cant XD I need it now. And I got off from school today because it was snowing really hard. Its like the first time in years I had a day off after the superbowl. And I also got more reviews on the last chapter and THANK YOU SO MUCH I LUV U! And I literally want to like die right now because again, less than a week!
So this chapter will be a few months after Ethan was born…I'd say five months. I didn't want to write about all the crying and all. And I wanted to make sure after I wrote about the baby that Anna would be back on her feet and ready to kick some ass. Oh, the end of this chapter is going to be fun!
On with the story!
Aria watched Hunter and Scarlett play with the other kids one day. Her parents had gone off on a raid to get more supplies for the group with Drake and Layla. They even mentioned of going to the forest to get some more meet. That left Aria in charge of Ethan, who she was feeding a bottle too, his blue eyes smiling up at her.
It was now late January and Ethan was five months old. And he actually wasn't that bad of a baby. He didn't cry as much as Scarlett had, and slept a lot more then he was awake. Maybe he would turn out to be a complete lazy bum when he grew up. But no, that wouldn't happen. He was a Dixon. And Dixon's were never lazy. She had learned that now.
It was chilly outside, but as Aria was, the cold didn't bother her. She hadn't even used her powers in a long time. None of them had really. They hadn't been called into using. But that didn't stop her siblings from being cold. So she made sure to bundle them up in a jacket for the almost 40 degree weather so they could play outside.
Right now they were playing tag, and Aria prayed to God that they wouldn't get that dirty, because they had a special event that they had to do later on. Layla and Drake were finally tying the knot.
At first, Aria had thought that waiting to have the wedding was kind of stupid, because neither of them knew if they were going to live the next day. But as time went by, the idea of a wedding sounded nice to them. A night to just forget what was happening outside and just to enjoy themselves.
It had been a year since the prison attack now. And they were surviving. Very well, actually. She was seventeen, and she was happy. Not to mention she had two new siblings because of this. And she prayed to God that she wouldn't get another until this all cleared up.
She had even picked out a dress in a shop to wear to wedding. They had started to fix up the main room and fixed up the electronics so that there would be some music. She was excited to have some fun.
She looks down at the baby and smiles at the boy sucking on the bottle. "You are such a cutie," she whispers, chuckling to herself. "When you grow up, you're gonna be one handsome dude. I can already tell. But you better not drive me crazy, or else I can screw that up for you."
Scarlett was already beginning to look older. She was now eight, and Hunter was going to be turning ten soon. Scarlett wasn't the little girl she used to be. She still loved to be a kid and play with others, but she was also very protective and not afraid to hurt someone if they threatened her family. She was practically an expert now with her pistol. This was her eight year old sister. It was hard to believe that this was Scarlett.
Both the two kids had become very protective over their little brother. Both of them actually helped take care of him when their parents couldn't. And they got to hold the baby now. They easily were able to hold him.
But even Aria knew that Scarlett would be turning in early that night. She loved dancing and being with family, but when it came down to the wee hours of the night, she was a slug and just wanted to climb into bed.
Her parents made good-looking children.
She snorts to herself and repositions the baby in her arms, making sure to keep a close eye on the kids. She feels someone sit down next to her and she chuckles. She knew that presence by now. "What's up, Carl?" she asks.
He shrugs. "Nothing much, just dreading tonight." She raises any eyebrow, chuckling slightly.
"Why?" she asks. "I mean, it's a wedding! And a party! We haven't been to one in ages and it will be fun to just let go of life outside and just have fun together." He rolls his eyes. "Stop being such a Grinch," she states, pushing his shoulder. She had used that term on him throughout December because he wasn't ever in the Christmas spirit. "Weddings are fun, and you will have fun. Even if I have to drag your ass out of a chair and plant it on the dance floor." He laughs at the statement and looks at the baby in her arms.
"How's he doing?" he asks. She sighs happily.
"Heavenly," she chuckles, looking at Ethan. "He's nothing like Scarlett was. She used to cry almost every night until she was two. Sometimes we ignored her crying because it was just a nightmare. No eating or changing, just a nightmare. And it would pass a few minutes later. But with Ethan, he's such a good boy," she chuckles, bouncing him in her arms for a second, causing the baby to giggle and smile up at her.
"He looks like Daryl," he states. Aria laughs. "And he's grown more hair since that day he came." She nods.
"Yeah he has…hey, are you wearing anything fancy to the wedding tonight? Like a dress shirt or something?" He shrugs.
"If my dad can find something. I know your dad probably wont." She smiles.
"He probably won't," she agrees, seeing her dog suddenly run up to the kids. "How did Pepper get out?" she laughs as the beagle starts to jump on the kids in an attempt to play. "Oh, she's rough," she sighs. "Can you take Ethan for a second? I need to take care of Pepper." He nods and takes the baby from her arms as she takes off to the dog, who was pouncing all over the kids. "Pepper!" she yells, a slight laugh in her voice.
Carl snickers and looks down at the little baby, who was smiling up at him, his eyes full of wonder at the new person holding him. "You're gonna have a great life, you know that?" he says to the kid, who continues to stare at him with the same expression. "You got a great mom and dad, and not to mention great siblings…specifically Aria," he states, looking to where Aria had now gotten the dog in her arms and was carrying her back towards the apartments. "She's something special."
Anna sat perched up in a tree like a bird, staring down at the meadow she had found prior to where she was. There were some walkers roaming the area, but walkers could climb trees. She was safe as long as she was up there.
She looks down at her body and smiles. After having Ethan, she automatically got back out on the field and it showed. She now of course was her original skinny figure that she had been, but she was more fit now then she had ever been in her life. Layla had been teaching her how to really climb a tree, and doing so gave her real muscles in her upper arms. And of course she had her dancer legs. Strong and fit.
The small group of her, Daryl, Layla, and Drake had gone and picked up more supplies for the group back at the campus and decided to split up and maybe find some more food. Right now, Anna was relaxing in the meadow she had found, her legs swinging over a tree branch. It reminded her of when she was twenty and she was visiting down south.
Her and Daryl had this meadow they would go to when they just wanted to escape from the world. In that meadow was where she had gotten her true first kiss. Not the sloppy one Jack had given her back when she was fifteen. Daryl was her first. And to be true, Joey thought that they hadn't been together until that night when she was 23, but they had been together before that. Just wasn't that known as people would have thought it would be. They kept it under wraps.
"How's school been going?" he asks as she picks at grass on the ground. Some of it was covering them, hiding their faces from the world. "Going in to sophomore year this year. Getting an apartment?" She nods.
"Yeah, I am. Excited to be getting out of the dorms," she states, looking out into the distance. He notices the sad look on her face and come closer.
"What's with the face?" he asks curiously, pushing her shoulder. She chuckles a little and faces him.
"I don't know just…tired I guess. Still pissed off at Paul," she grumbles. He rolls his eyes.
"Ya broke up with him. Why are ya sad?" he asks. "He was an asshole. He deserves to be dumped by every girl he meets. And he's definitely not good enough for ya," he states. She laughs.
"And who is?" she chuckles. He shrugs his shoulders.
"No one," he replies. She smiles and brings her knees up to her chest.
"It's not that I'm sad about breaking up with him. In fact, I'm more than happy I've broken up with him. He was nothing but trouble. I just really thought that he was the one for me, you know? But when I kissed him the first time, I didn't feel that spark that I was supposed to feel. And I just don't count that as a first kiss." She sighs, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. "He didn't even get me a flower. He was so bad."
"Just stop thinking about him, then," he states, tilting her head up so her eyes could meet his. She chuckles and listens. "He's a dick and he doesn't deserve to even be in yer mind. So stop thinking anf let it go," he finish's, letting go of her chin. She smiles and looks out.
"I remember when I left the house I was staying in with him. The stupid apartment. I actually became good friends with his roommates. And they're the ones who gave me a bouquet," she huffs, her arms crossing her chest. "I finally get a bouquet and it's a goodbye present. That's depressing." He chuckles at her.
"Didn't yer dad give ya a rode for yer birthday the last time?" She rolls her eyes at him, her head turning to meet his eyes again.
"Yeah, one. Just one rose isn't a bouquet," she mumbles, throwing a pebble into the grass in front of them. Snickering, he picks a flower and places it in her hair, causing her to smile at him.
"It isn't a bouquet," he mocks. "But I think it'll do for now," he says, taking his hand down from her hair and letting it linger for a moment near her face before bringing it down to his side. She smiles and comes closer to him, bringing him in for a hug.
"Thanks, D," she says when she pulls back, then cups his face gently, leaning in and pecking his cheek. She could tell that he was surprised, but when she pulled back she smiled at him, letting her hand linger on his cheek. But instead of pulling away like she thought he would, his hand actually comes up and meets hers, covering it. Her breath catches in her throat.
All of a sudden he starts to kiss the palm of her hand, causing her cheeks to turn a dark crimson. His lips trail down her hand and to her wrist, and Anna was speechless. She knew he was capable of affection, but nothing like this. Then, the hand that was holding hers released its grip and grabbed the back of her head, bringing her head to his, and their lips finally connected. Anna kissed back, and she smiled. This was her first kiss.
His lips disconnected from hers and starts to trail down her neck, kissing it in some very sensitive spots, and Anna had to fight herself not to let out a moan. They travel back to her lips and she wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and kissing him just as deep as he was kissing her.
She felt that spark for the first time that day.
She smiles at the memory and almost lost her track of time and exactly where she was. She hears the crunching of leaves in front of her and she looks down. Right there, there was a deer, sniffing the ground for food to eat.
She smiles and positions her arrow in her bow. She had taken up a liking to a bow and arrows, and she found that she was actually quite good with them. She pulls back the string, takes a deep breath, and lets the arrow fly through the air, and it lands itself firmly in the head if the deer, it falling down dead.
She smirks and jumps out of the tree, landing besides it. And that's when she sees the arrows in the side of it. The deer was already dead before she even pulled back the string. And she knew whose arrows those were.
"Daryl?" she whines. "I actually thought I got one by myself!" she chuckles, taking out the arrows. She hear the leafs crunching and she turns around, seeing-what do you know-Daryl stepping out of the bushes. He smiles at her.
"It that yer arrow in the head?" he asks amazed. She smiles proudly and nods, taking it out of the head. "Damn, you've gotten good with that," he says, leaning down to take out some of his.
"While you're losing game. You got its side. What happened to that fantastic aim?" she chuckles. He glares at her playfully but comes down next to her, taking the arrows. She looks at the deer and smiles. "This will be perfect for-" She is suddenly was stopped when Daryl silenced her with his lips on hers. She smiles and places her arms around his neck, kissing back. She is first to pull away. "What was that for?" she chuckles. He shrugs his shoulders.
"Just felt like kissing ya. That so wrong?" he replies. She smirks.
"Not when you're such a great kisser," she says, pecking his lips once more, but he deepened the kiss and laid her down on the grass. She giggles as he starts to kiss down her neck. "Daryl, I really do not want to risk having another kid again," she chuckles. She feels him snicker and he pulls back, pecking her lips once more.
"Ya and I make pretty good kids," he replies. "What's wrong with another one?" She looks at him stupefied, a stupid smile on her face, causing him to snicker again.
"You're not the one who has to carry it around for eight months! So get off me," she ends, slipping out from under him and getting back to the deer. "We need to get this back to Drake and Layla." She sighs happily. "God, they're getting married today! Oh, I'm so excited!" she squeals. Daryl raises an eyebrow.
"Ain't like it's your own," he chuckles. She rolls her eyes.
"It's still my friend," she replies, smacking his head playfully. "And not to mention we've been waiting for them to seal the deal for such a long time. It's annoying how long it took." He snorts.
"Took us twenty years," he mutters. Oh but she heard, and she looks annoyed at him for a second before shaking her head.
"Just pick up the bloody deer!"
Anna rests her head against Daryl's shoulder later that night, watching Layla and Drake get married. Layla had nothing but a pure smile on her face, light in her eyes. The same with Drake. Anna and Maggie had done her makeup and her hair, and she was in a flowing white gown they had found in a shop one day. And it fit her perfectly. There was a white lily in her hair, and Anna couldn't help but think back to her friend.
She glances around the room and looks at everyone. Maggie and Glenn were close together, there hands clasped, while Beth, which they had found a few months ago, was sitting next to Jason, one of the other teenagers there. Her eyes travel to her children in the row in front of them, and then Aria, who was sitting next to Carl and Rick. And Anna could tell from a mile away that her daughter had a crush on Carl. But she didn't mind. The kid was nice, and not to mention made her daughter happy.
"You may exchange vows," the man said. Drake smiles and goes first.
"Layla, from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were something special. You were the only person that really matched my personality, let me be who I wanted to be, and accepted for who I was. We escaped Atlanta together and have been protecting each other ever since, and loving each other came easily for us. And I swear on my heart that I will continue to keep you alive for the rest of my life. You are beautiful, and perfect. And I will love you with all my heart, for forever." Anna smiles and looks to Layla. She looked about ready to cry.
"Drake. How can I put my love for you in words? You saved me from the things outside. And when life truly started to look grim for me, you brought a light into my life. And it keeps shining every single day that you are in my life. You helped me out of a dark place, gave me something to hold onto during the night and to love. To be cherished by. To have and to hold. And as you said, loving you came easily. I love with every ounce of my human being, and of my soul. And nothing out there could ever break that." Anna feels something on her head and realizes Daryl just pecked it. She smiles at him lovingly and turns back to the couple.
They exchanged the words and the rings, and sooner or later is was time for the grand finale. "You may kiss the bride." And they did. Very much. Everyone cheered, Anna clapping the loudest for her friend. When everyone settled down, and the two had stopped kissing, Aria suddenly stood up and smiles.
"LET'S PARTY!" she yells, and everyone either laughs or cheers in reply.
"Look at Aria," Anna says to Daryl later on. "She hasn't been this happy in ages," she sighs, leaning back against her chair. Daryl nods, impressed a little.
"I'm surprised she got Carl up there. He never seemed like the dancing type," she replies. She snorts dna leans over to him.
"I think she has a little crush on him," she whispers into his ear. He chuckles when he pulls back.
"Really?" he asks. She nods, looking back at the two dancing with the other teenagers to 'Cruise.' "Didn't think she did."
"Yeah. What do you think about that?" she asks, waiting his response. He looks a bit closer at the two and shrugs, leaning back in his chair.
"The kid has been through a lot. But he's still a good kid. And I think he would be good for her. I mean, she's only 17-"
"ONLY 17?" she replies, making him chuckle. "Daryl, that's practically a legal adult now," she laughs. "I think they would be cute together. They need a name." He raises an eyebrow.
"A name?" he replies. She nods.
"Like a couple name, you know like 'Bradgelina'…oh, 'Caria!'" she chuckles, turning to him. He snorts.
"That sounds like a car name," he chuckles. She laughs and turns back to the two.
"Do you have any better ideas?" she asks, gesturing to the two. He shakes his head, raising his hands in a surrender motion.
"Nah, I don't do that." Anna smiles and looks to the other grownups, sighing happily.
"I'm glad Joey said he would take care of Ethan tonight. Nice to get away from the kid, right?" she whispers, up at him. He nods a little.
"Yeah, just nice not to hear the crying, even if he's not as bad as Scarlett," he replies. She laughs, nodding her head as well.
"She was a howler!" she laughs, her head on his shoulder again. Said girl came running up to them and hid under the table. Daryl and Anna look at each other with a confused look on their faces and lean down to the table. "Scarlett, what are you doing, sweetie?" Anna asks, chuckling a little.
"Hiding from Billy! He's trying to kiss me cheek!" she whines, sticking her head out to glance at her parents. Daryl turns his head away so she wouldn't see him laugh at her comment while Anna just had a smile on her face.
"It's not that bad sweetie," she chuckles. 'Cooties are the reason why you're even here,' she thinks to herself, chuckling even more.
Anna was patrolling the next day with Joey and Nathan, making sure to keep her bow and arrow up if she saw anything. "Yesterday was so nice," Nathan says. "Why didn't you come Joey?" Nathan asks. Joey shrugs his shoulders.
"Didn't feel like coming." Anna smiles sadly. She knew the reason why was because Joey wanted to have his own wedding one day and now that Shane was gone he didn't have a chance. "Plus I was taking are of a baby the whole time so…" Anna glares at him.
"You signed up for that, asshole," she replies, poking him in the stomach. He laughs at her but stops when he hears sudden movement coming from the bushes in front of them. Anna aims her arrow while both the men aim their guns, waiting for the walker to come out. When it didn't, she knew it was a human. "Come out! We're not going to hurt you!" she comments, even thought she probably would if the person jumped out at them with a knife in their hands.
"I'm ok! I don't have any weapons on me!" one voice said. Anna's brow furrows. That voice sounded familiar.
"It's the truth! We don't!" another voice sounded. That sounded familiar too!
"Then step out!" Nathan yells. The two men reluctantly step out into the open and Anna could feel her jaw drop to the ground, and she felt Joey tense up behind her. They knew who these people were.
Jack and Paul.
Oh, cliffhanger! I've been wanting to do that for a while! And I'm happy I did a wedding scene. I've been wanting to do that two. But now two assholes who are a part of Anna's bad past step into the picture! This can only end badly! And thank you for over 40 reviews! Thanks for reading and as always, REVIEW! Hope you enjoyed! Heaven knows I did!
And by the way, Paul is her ex-boyfriend from freshman year in college. Just saying. And if you don't know who Jack is you NEED to re read the story. And by the way. The kissing scene in the memory? I got this from a gif. Its all the pictures except for the girl running away.
Link: post/75312122745/get-your-stupid-fcking-rope-mushroom-kiss
And yes, that is a younger Norman Reedus. JESUS. 3