𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 // 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘰𝘯

ɢʟᴇɴɴ, ᴍʏ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ʙʀᴏ.

Let's just say, I'm amazing and everyone else is always wrong. And I mean always. Shit hit the fan pretty quickly. I don't know if it did when Rick decided to smoke bomb the place or if it went to shit when Oscar went and got shot. Either way, Glenn and Maggie are safe, I'm alive and Daryl-

"Where's Daryl?" I ask out of breath. My voice comes out shaky and shocked. The last of my worries was Daryl, he's supposed to be the smart one.

"They grabbed him, we have to go back." Glenn yells, from somewhere within the little town, the civilians have been shouting, making it hard to hear one another. Well that and gunshots. 

I expect Rick to nod but he doesn't, instead he stands still, a hand on his gun and an unreadable look on his face. "We got Glenn, we should head back for now, come again tomorrow."

Rage fills my chest quickly, causing my eyes to widen and my hands to ball into fists. "What do you mean?" I take a step forward and Maggie does as well, reaching an arm in front of me. "I'm not leaving Daryl here."

Rick looks at me like a child crying about something they want but can't have. His eyebrows are furrowed, looking me up and down as if he's trying to tell if I'm serious.

"You guys can go, I'm getting Daryl." This makes Glenn step forward with a hurt and saddened look on his face. But he nods anyway, handing me his gun.

"We'll back you up." He nudges Maggie with his shoulder and she nods with a smile. I turn my head towards Rick who's standing in the same position. He slowly nods as well, taking his gun off of the belt.

I don't take my time. My feet work quickly, sneaking into Woodbury with ease. The group follows behind me, Rick's boots clinking against the ground with each step. We don't know where Michonne ended up going but my guess is revenge. 

We follow the noise and duck behind a truck when we come upon a crowd of people, all standing around a circle. It's hard to see what's going on in the center but the second my eyes connect with Daryl they go glossy. I've never seen him like this. Tears are threatening his eyes and his lip quivers. A man pushes him forward until Daryl is face to face with Merle.

Merle says a few words that we can't hear. Daryl shakes the whole time, looking around the crowd. I want to run up and hug him but I reframe, instead I stand between Maggie and Glenn, rage filling my lungs, making it hard to breathe.

If you told me a couple months ago that I would be here, standing behind a truck and shaking in fear and anger because of Daryl Dixon, I would have laughed in your face. But right now, none of this is funny.

I've spent so long hating Daryl, I never thought about losing him. And now that things are better between us, now that there might be an us, it physically pains me to see him like this. I know we kissed once but between Daryl and I that's as big as telling each other "love you". 

Do I love him?

The words echo in my head as I watch the governor signal for walkers to be thrown into the circle. All it takes is Daryl saying one word and suddenly I'm up and running straight towards him.

Glenn yells my name behind me but I ignore it.  The first person to spot me is a thicker man standing on the outside of the crowd. His back is towards me but he turns at the sound of my feet.

His eyes go wide, his mustache moving when he yells. I pull out once of my tiny knives, still running as I chuck it towards him. It lands in between his eyes and causes him to hit the ground loudly. I stalk towards him slowly. I don't need someone else hearing me.

 The noise the knife makes as it exits his head is foul. I almost want to throw up but I swallow the feeling and keep walking slowly. Wiping the little knife on my pants, I make my way into the crowd. I guess no one seems to notice me because I end up right in the front.

Daryl's eyes are still hazardous and afraid as he fights off the walker fighting to get to him. It's a sad sight. I whistle twice, long and loud whistles that cause the crowd to go silent. The woman looks beside her and down at me, I grin at her and she screams. The crowd does all the work for me. People start running in every direction, afraid of a killer being amongst them.

Shots fill the air quickly but I don't budge. Instead I make my way to Daryl who's still standing in the circle, a look of shock on his anxious face. When we make eye contact his eyes go wet for a second causing him to blink twice. I give him a short smile, diving so I don't get shot.

"What are ya doin here?" His voice is scratchy and loud against the gunshots. I shrug my shoulder, pointing a finger at him as we both stand up, running full speed to the rest of the group.

Merle's behind us but I don't care, it doesn't even cross my mind as Daryl's hand locks into mine as we run the rest of the way. 

By the time we make it back to the group and safely get the hell out of dodge, night is leaving and the sun begins to shine through the trees we walk in. I wish it was as peaceful as that, a night time walk. Instead Merle and Glenn argue and Maggie refuses to look at anyone.

 "I'm not letting him come back with us." Glenn demands, suddenly stopping in a tiny clearing. We're so close to the car why don't we argue some other time?

Glenn stands in front of Maggie, a serious look on his face and his arms crossed. I've known him longer than anyone and I know there's no way in hell Merles getting past him. Shit. 

"I ain't goin back if my brother isn't" I whip my head towards him, my mouth instantly going dry. Screw not being able to get past Glenn, some ones gonna have to hit me with a car if they intend on stopping me right now.

"You can't be serious" I catch Maggie looking at me with sympathy in the corner of my eye and it makes me suck in a short breath. I take two steps, clutching a fist around Daryl's jacket and forcing him away from the group.

We stand like this for a second, me holding onto his jacket, him tired, angry, and probably very confused.

"You can't leave. I'm not letting you. Not after everything we just did to save you, not after everything we've been through." My eyes begin to water. "I know Merle is family but this group, I, am your family."

He finally makes eye contact with me and his eyes are wet as well, a single tear forming, trying desperately to fall. "Ya can't stop me." He grumbles, taking a step back but not away.

"I know you better than you think I do, it didn't take a kiss to be able to." I take a deep breath, my words getting muddled.

"If you leave, you're gonna regret it. You're nothing like Merle, you couldn't live with him. This group has taken care of you in ways no one else has, in ways Merle never did." He flinches at my words, taking two more steps back.

"If you leave and come back it's not going to be the same. A little make out session isn't good enough for me to let you go, if anything you gave me a sample and I want more, but now you're leaving and now I have to let you because that's what people do, we let go of the people we love because we love them and that means we love every single bad thing about them, you leaving, this is the first bad thing you've ever done to me. Let it be the last."

I walk away from him quickly, afraid the sharpness and coldness of my words will be destroyed the second he sees my face. It's stained with tears and my lip quivers rapidly. I walk until I see the road, the others following behind me. I refuse to turn to face him, instead I stand with my back against the other side of the car, watching as the trees blow in the morning wind. 

We all stay silent as Rick says his goodbye to Daryl. This can't be happening, not this easy anyway. I huff a breath, trying to steady my lungs. Michonne appears from the front of the car, a little smile on her face.

"I'm sorry he's leaving."

"Me too."