Struggling (Sequel to Little Mouse)

Evidence

The next morning, I woke up in a strange, orange tent. I sat up in confusion, yawning and stretching as I glanced around. The inside of the tent smelled sweaty and woodsy, and across the tent I noticed another vacant sleeping bag. Beside the sleeping bag was an old, yet familiar sleeveless shirt that belonged to Daryl, so it was safe to assume that I was in Daryl's tent. But how had I gotten there? I decided to leave now before Daryl returned, feeling as though I had overstayed my welcome.

Just as I was leaving the lone tent, I heard leaves and grass crunching towards me. I glanced to the left and saw that Daryl was returning. I smiled and waved, closing the tent flap behind me.

"Sleep ok?" Daryl grunted

"Yeah," I said, glancing around Daryl's mini camp. There was a small fire burning in the center with a small frying pan heating up. "How'd I end up here? I don't remember getting drunk." I asked, laughing a little at my own stupid joke.

"Ya fell asleep on me, an' I took ya to my tent." He explained, shifting a little.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to do that." I said, blushing a little and glancing down at my feet.

Daryl shrugged. "Wasn' a problem. 'Least ya don't snore."

I laughed again, forcing my eyes to look up and meet his. His eyes were sparkling and he was staring directly at me, a half smirk on his face. I felt my insides warm at his smirk, and my heart was swelling.

"Well, I should of check on Carl, make sure he's ok." I mumbled out, smiling softly.

Daryl nodded awkwardly and stepped off to the side, as if he was blocking me in any way. I felt my heart warming a little as I walked towards him on my way to the house. Just as I passed him, however, I paused for a second, gathering up the courage before glancing at him. He was staring at me curiously, which made me all the more nervous. I bit my lip ever so slightly, and quickly leaned up, placing a quick and probably sloppy kiss on his cheek. He stiffened, probably caught completely off guard. I felt tense on the inside, but the deed was done. I pulled away quickly, whispering "Thank you" under my breath before taking long strides towards the house. While walking, I felt Daryl's stare burning my back, but I kept an even pace, my heart pounding.

Daryl.

I watched Courtney leave in a hurry. My cheek was still warm from where she had kissed it. I felt heat coming to my face as I lifted a hand to touch the spot softly. That had been the second time that she had kissed me, and each time had thrown me completely off guard. I couldn't get the idea that Courtney might have liked me out of my head. I mean, why else would someone kiss another person on the cheek twice?

But then the little demonic voice in my head had to input its own opinion.

"Yer just a friend to her. Y'know how affectionate she is to everyone 'round here, hell she'd probably kiss Shane on the cheek if he handed her a plate of eggs."

I frowned at the idea that her kiss meant nothing to her. Just as I frowned, though, I noticed Shane approaching Courtney with a plate of, of course, eggs. I watched anxiously as she accepted them, smiling at Shane, but to my immense relief, she didn't kiss him on the cheek. I was already jealous of when Courtney chose to look over Shane rather than me, but then again, Courtney was a doctor. Shane was probably a higher priority with a scratch than I was with a headache.

"But he didn't have to wrap his arm around her." The demon pointed out. "And she didn't exactly try to get away."