Fire With Fire // D. Dixon

chapter eighteen

Daryl Dixon was in love with Chloe Grimes.

"You what?" Chloe felt her heart pounding in her chest, a swirling feeling in her stomach caught her off guard. Perhaps she had misheard him.

"Ya heard me," Daryl laughs, searching her eyes, "I said I love ya."

Chloe doesn't say anything for a moment, but she looks back up at him, the pale blue sky reflecting in his eyes. To anyone else, he looked messy and disheveled. But to her, he was everything she needed. The man that would always fight to keep her safe, a man that wanted her despite all of her flaws and despite everything she'd gone through...he still wanted her. She had longed for the time they spent together, always craving to be near him. He wanted her, he had said it himself.

"You gonna say somethin'?" Daryl laughed, holding her cheek in his hand as he looked at her. He was trying to read her expression, make some sort of sense as to what she was thinking. He'd never do anything that she didn't want to, he'd let her lead the way. He longed to kiss her, to hold her in his arms and never let her go again. But he fought the urge.

"Yeah," Chloe spoke softly, "I love you too, Daryl Dixon."

Daryl watches as Chloe's eyes move down to his lips, and he doesn't stop it. The pair gives way to their desires, letting their lips touch for the very first time. The kiss is gentle, as Daryl holds the girl in his arms, deepening the kiss. Chloe snakes her hands around his face and neck, feeling the stubble of his beard. She ran her fingers through his dark hair, causing him to lose balance for a moment, not that either of them cared. Their bodies shifted together, as Chloe allowed herself the time to feel passion, the trust she had in this man was solid.

She knew for a fact that he would never hurt her.

-X-

They were back on the move again. Spending their days walking as many miles as possible before hauling ass to the woods for the night. Rinse and repeat.

The kinds of things they had to do to survive had left them all feeling less than human. They'd been forced into killing a small group of hungry dogs, just to stay alive. Nobody tried to think about it, but the thoughts crept into their minds as they ate.

Once they got back on the road for the day, their last few bottles of water were going dry. The group fought against the dryness in their throats to preserve their rations. All that seemed to do was make everyone more tired.

"Daryl," Glenn handed the hunter the water bottle, "Drink."

"Nah." Daryl spoke, the raspiness in his voice evident. He was heavily dehydrated, they all were. Chloe worried about him, knowing that he was one of the strongest members of the group. If they were going to survive, they needed to be at their best.

Seeing as Glenn's hand didn't budge, Daryl took the bottle from his hand and then promptly gave the bottle to Chloe. Chloe gave him an incredulous look, but Daryl didn't budge.

It wasn't that she wasn't thirsty, she definitely was. She hated taking resources away from the group. It made her feel like she was dead weight, like she was just extra baggage they didn't need to have to worry about.

"I'll drink if you drink." Chloe stated, handing the bottle back to Daryl. She watched as Daryl smirked at her.

"Ladies first." Daryl said, handing back the water bottle. Chloe laughed dryly, taking a good swig of the water. She had the lid in her hand and watched as Daryl finally took a drink.

-X-

FROM A FRIEND, the note read.

The group was panicked. There was someone watching them.