When the dead roam - (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 83 - Need to protect

"Oh, you've got to be kiddin' me" Lou sighed dramatically as she pinched the bridge of her nose and walked through the gates of Alexandria. The Savours' trucks sat along the interior fences, loaded with box upon box of supplies. Arat and a few other members of the group stood scattered across the entrance, laughing and taunting members of the community as they unwillingly handed over grates of food and water. She took off in jog towards Rick's house and barged through the front door, the hinges wining upon impact and the brass handle banging off the coat hook inside. "Rick, Carl, you here?"

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. Negan was stood in the kitchen, freshly shaved and a drink in his hand.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she snapped, taking a step towards him.

Negan smirked at her, took a swig of his beer and placed it on the kitchen counter. "Well, hello to you too"

"Carl, you okay?" she asked the teenager, who was holding his younger sister in his arms.

"Him? Oh, he's fine" Negan answered. "Decided to pay me a visit so, I thought I'd bring him home"

Louise raised her eyebrows. "Thanks but you can leave now"

"Nope, I'm waitin' for your leader to come home from wherever the hell he is and besides" he gestured towards the stove. "We're making spaghetti"

She looked over her shoulder at Nicole and nodded towards the door. "Go ge-"

"No, she can stay" he said. "The more the merrier" he looked over his shoulder. "Carl, we're gonna need an extra place setting"

"No way" Lou stated, shaking her head as he smirked. Negan walked towards her, the floorboards creaking underneath his weight. Once he was a few inches in front of her, he stopped and looked down at her.

"You'll do as I say...or I'll kill everybody here" his eyes drifted down her body as he spoke. "Sit. Its dinner time"

Reluctantly, she pulled a chair out and sat next to Nicole at the dining table. The five sat in almost complete silence for the duration of the meal; the only sound being produced by their forks scraping across the ceramic table wear. Louise glared at the baseball-bat-loving male opposite her. Everything about him made her furious and as he smirked back at her in response, she found herself resisting the urge to kick him in the shin.

"This how you treat all your guests?" he asked, the subtle hint of an attempted joke rupturing the once awkwardly silent atmosphere.

"You're not really a guest" she grumbled. "More of an unwanted intruder"

Negan stared at her with an amused look on his face. "So, how long have you and the redneck-"

"Don't" she warned, dropping her fork on the plate.

"I'm just saying, you and him?" he let a cocky chuckle escape his lips. "Back when the world was somewhat normal, wouldn't ever work"

Louise narrowed her eyes. "This might come as a surprise to you and your inflated ego but I don't actually care what you think"

"Of course you do" he leaned back in his seat, crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "Otherwise you wouldn't respond" When she didn't taunt him back, he continued. "So, I'll attempt my question again. How long have you and him been together?"

"We're not-"

"Together?"

"No"

"Interesting"

"Look, are we done here or are you gonna continue to play detective?" she snapped. "Cause I've got a bunch of other things I could be doing"

The tall male raised his eyebrows, leaned across the table slightly and picked up her napkin before wiping away the small amount of tomato sauce left on the corner of her mouth. "Oh darlin', I finished playing detective before you even stepped into the house"

The legs of her chair scraped across the floor as she pushed it out and took her plate to the sink. She could feel her blood pressure increase the more he spoke but she knew she could never excuse herself from the situation - leaving meant leaving the children in the care of a mad man.

"Y'wanna know why I like you, Lou-Lou?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "No but I bet you're gonna tell me anyway"

"It's because when I tried to kill you, you weren't even the slightest bit scared but the second I attempt to kill your pathetic, dirty, scruffy looking, red-neck of a boyfriend, your desire to keep him safe scared the absolute shit out of you" he chuckled harshly and joined her at the sink. "But you threw yourself into the line of fire to protect him and I can work with that, Lou-Lou, I can work with that need to protect. I could use you on my team - the winning team"

"I'm pretty content where I am, thank you" she said, sending him an over-exaggerated fake smile and running the cold water over her plate.

Negan placed a hand either side of her waist, locking her into a cage in front of the water filled bowl. "I think the only thing that scares you more than your friends dying is that you like me. You like me in ways you know you shouldn't"

"Am I that transparent?" she scoffed, turning to face him. She hadn't realized how intensely close his torso was to her own; she could feel his breath on her skin. "I don't like you any more than I like the 'walkers' outside of those walls, in fact, I think I like them more than you because they don't talk bullshit constantly"

His fingertips grazed her cheeks as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Carl stood abruptly and took a somewhat threatening step towards them. "Hey-"

"Not now, Carl" Negan sighed. "Me and Louise are having a moment"

"Don't touch her" he warned but Lou placed a hand out at her side, signally for him to stay out of the way. Negan noticed and smirked.

"See?" he wiggled his eyebrows. "She gets it"

"Carl, Nicole, take Judith upstairs" she instructed, never once taking her eyes off the man in front of her.

He raised one eyebrow and smirked. "Listen to your mom, kid. Oh, no, wait...your daughter was called Holly, right?"

For the first time, she backed down. Her eyes drifted to the floor and she pushed herself back against the sink, attempting to move as far away from him as she could.

"She died right?" he continued. "Young, impressionable...dependent"

"Don't you dare talk about my daughter" she whispered, her voice wavering.

Negan winked at Carl before facing her again. "See, Carl has been giving me the lowdown and I think I have something that you might want back" he clicked his tongue off the roof of his mouth, grabbed his leather jacket from the back of his chair and walked towards the front door. "This way"

"I'm sorry" Carl mumbled as he lifted Judith from her high chair and followed the two adults and Nicole out of the house. Louise patted him on the shoulder and nodded.

The porch steps bounced under her weight and she jumped from the bottom step, holding the handle of her knife to ensure it stayed tucked into her waist band. Negan stopped in front of a group of Saviours, winked at Louise and waved his hand above the crowd.

"Here we are"

Her eyebrows furrowed together and she scanned the faces in front of her, taking a step backwards as a familiar face smirked back at her. A breath caught in her throat. His long hair had been cut short, the iconic top knot stripped away, and he had gained a substantial amount of muscle. He moved his friends out of the way with the back of his hand and stepped in front of her.

"Hey, litter sister"