The Walking Dead ~ Daryl x Reader x Negan

6) Should I stay or should I go?

I sit in Dale's RV rubbing my forehead. Blinking hard, cracking every joint I can, in effort to calm down.

"Lucy, it's okay really. He's having a bad day." Dale tried to assure me.

"So is everyone else, but they're still being nice to others around them. He has no right to act like an ass." I stand to my feet pacing back and forth. "I'm sorry, Dale. Thank you for letting me chill in here."

"Its okay." I hear him say one last time before I storm out of the door.

I look around for Daryl, eventually finding him by his tent eating some left over squirrel. I approach him swiftly, not stopping until I'm stood directly in front of him. He continues looking down for a moment before slowly looking to me, eyes squinting due to the sun behind me.

"Why are you being such a prick. I don't understand it." I begin my rant.

"The fuck-" he tried to argue but I cut him off.

"People are dead, Daryl. People are mourning those dead, Daryl. Then you, Daryl, pull the biggest show I've ever fucking seen to get your anger out. Telling Andrea to just stab Amy and move on. Threatening to kill Jim because he's been bit. That's all shitty but worst of all, you're pushing people away who are only trying to help you." I say angrily, all in one breath.

"Fuck off." He looks back down to his meal.

"Are you-" I sigh and look away. "Are you fucking joking? You're acting like you don't care."

"Do you? You barely know these people. You barely know me." He stands up, getting in my face.

I take a few steps back, blinking away certain memories from before the end of the world. "I do care. I do. I care about all those people over there and I care about you - whether you like it or not."

He takes another step forward, this time I don't move back. "Don't."

"You can't just say that." I take a step forward this time, "You confuse me. We were fine earlier, laughing in the forest and when we got back you just switched. You physically pushed me away when I tried to help earlier. You're giving me mixed messages. So save me some time and tell me now. Should I stay or should I go?"

He takes a step back this time and looks at me. He knows by now, I can't stand silence but I hold my ground looking straight back at him. I refuse to let this go or argue any further. He knows that.

"Stay."

I give him no reaction, simply walking away to help Shane and Rick moving bodies. I let out a deep breath when I got far enough away. I had expected him to walk away long before I did. I don't like confrontation, but I had to know and I had to tell him.

"Hey, sorry." I say to Rick and grab the feet of a cannibal corpse.

"No worries." He says and I look up at him. He smiles and me and I smile back, feeling good that he doesn't actually hate my guts.

~~~~

We're organising who each person is traveling with, a family of four had told the group they're not going to come with us to the CDC.

"Lucy, I'm guessing you're traveling with Daryl?" Rick asks me.

"Yeah, if he'll let me." I mentally cross my fingers, Daryl and I make eye contact and he looks away, nodding his head to Rick. I smile to myself as Rick dismisses us. We all go sperate ways to prepare for the long journey.

Daryl sits down first and I stay stood for the moment being, "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve my rant earlier. Thank you for letting me ride with you."

"I figured it could've been someone worse opposed to you." He doesn't look at me. I swing my leg over the bike, it's more comfortable than it looks. "Might want to hold on?" Daryl states as more of a question.

I put my hands on his shoulders and he scoffs, grabbing them and pulling them around his waist. There's nothing wrong with this but I feel my face heat up a little bit as I feel like I'm cuddling into his back. Without waisting another second, Daryl accelerates making me hold on a little tighter in reflex.

We ride in silence for a while before Daryl speaks again, "Hey," he yells grabbing my attention, "What's the song today?"

"The song?" I say quieter than his as I'm right next to his ear.

"Yeah every day I hear you singing a different one. What's today's?"

I feel butterflies a little, feeling special that he noticed and would then bring it up. "Oh it's uh-" I wrack my blank brain, "Kiss from a rose, by seal. Its a classic."

"No. I refuse." He responds.

"Shut up, you know you love it."

"No, it'll be engraved my brain for the next year. You can't do this to me." He complains, making me giggle.

I pause for a few seconds trying to make it as suspenseful as possible. Will she sing it? Will she sing something else?.... He knows I'm going to sing it "Thereeeeee-"

"Noooooo" He tried to stop me but I keep going.

I only hold onto him tighter as I sing the meme of a song, resting my head on his back - actually cuddling into him now. "used to be a graying tower alone by the sea...."

"Choose another one." He demands light-heartedly.

"Fine, spoil sport." We slow down as we get onto the main road. We no longer have to shout and I can feel myself getting sleepier by the minute having not had much sleep at all the past few nights, "What about something by the police? Every breath you take? Message in a bottle?"

"Every breath you take. For sure. That is a proper classic." He stops me from listing anymore of their songs.

"Every breath you take," I begin singing, "Every move you-" I yawn, my lack of rest hitting me hard now, "make, every-"

"You know you can sleep. I don't mind as long as you don't fall off." He doesn't have to say anything else as I drift into a different world.