The Day the World Ended

Chapter 7 Meeting Daryl

He carried me to a back room in the library. It was a small 'secret' class room that people used when they needed some time alone to do their work. The desks were pushed aside and there was a sofa in the middle which must have been his bed. He was silent as he brought me in. I unwrapped my arms from around his neck as he gently sat me down on the couch.

"Thank you," I said quietly, "for saving me back there. It was horrible. I couldn't do anything because he was...."

"Save it for later," he said, interrupting me.

I closed my mouth and looked at him, as if trying to get at his game. Save me and then be a jerk to me. That was pretty much it. But why? He walked over to the corner of the room to what looked like a bag of clothes. After shuffling through them, he picked out a shirt and pants and threw them across the room to me.

"Change. I don't have any bras or panties, but I guess that doesn't really matter now," he looked at me and a small smile spread across his lips. "You actually look good with my shirt. Maybe you should keep it."

I flushed slightly, me keep his shirt? I wasn't going to question it. Instead I nodded and held out the shirt he threw at me for him to take. He walked over, took it from me, and put it on. He flipped his hair and then sat down beside me as I put on the shirt and pants.

"Thank you again uh..." damn, what was his name?

"Daryl. Like the actor. My friends call me that because I look similar. My actual name is Cole. But I'd like if you'd call me Daryl."

"... Daryl, thank you."

"Yea, no problem. What should I call you?"

Was that a way of asking what my name was? Was that how the cool people do it? Ha.

"Ash. As in Ashely, but Ash for short."

He smirked and nodded, "Welcome to hell Ash."

I looked at my feet, "They'll find a cure, Daryl. Right?"

"I have no idea," he rubbed his forehead.

Such a charmer. His hands were covering his eyes, so I could actually look at him without nothing making it awkward. He was wearing a black tee and a small sleeveless denim jacket. Wow, no wonder why his friends called him Daryl. He wore jeans that were ripped from the fight, and for shoes he wore Converse. His voice was scratchy and somewhat deep, and he had a little chin hair. It was kind of hard to tell how old he was just by looking at him.

"Uh, Daryl? How old are you?"

He opened his fingers a little and looked at me with one green eye, "Eighteen."

What? Who the hell was in the window earlier? Now that I think of it, the kid looked nothing like Daryl. Maybe he was a seventh grader. I don't know. What I did know was that Daryl was four years older than me, which didn't seem right. Actually, I was sad, because I really liked him. I guess he saw that.

"Am I too old for you?"

I shrugged and looked at my feet, "Yea..."

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Hmm, fourteen eh? Four years apart ain't that bad," he slid closer to me on the couch and whispered, "at least, not for me." He lightly lifted my chin and kissed me.

It felt like I just entered Heaven. I flushed immediately and couldn't help but wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back. I know I know, I just basically got raped no more than an hour and a half ago. But, Daryl did save me, and, he needed a well deserved reward.

He slowly reached his hand up and put it on my cheek. He was so tender and gentle. So... sweet. And I did love him. I loved him a lot. After a little while more, he pulled away from me and smiled slightly.

I bit my lip and pushed my hair back, "Well, I'm tired now. I should uh... get to bed. Wherever that may be." I stood up and looked around, "Thank you again Daryl."

He caught my hand as I started for the door, "You can sleep here tonight. The couch is big enough."

I smiled, "Thank you."

He nodded and let go of my hand. I sat back down and he stood to blow out the candles. I lay down while he did, and started drifting in and out of sleep. I was almost there when I felt movement by my feet, and then up behind my back. Daryl. He was laying behind me now. I blushed and grinned when he threw his arm over me and pulled me close. Snuggling into him, I fell asleep.