ELISE [Rick Grimes AU Series]

| CHAPTER TWO |

CHAPTER TWO - DRINKS

Elise didn't drink often, but after her second school week of the new semester came to an end, all she craved was the sweet, smokey taste of whiskey on her tongue.

She arrived at the bar shortly after 6 pm. She had planned to have only one drink as she had spent her Saturday daytime listening to music while she cleaned her house. She had two more days' worth of lessons to plan, and she knew come Monday that she would still be finishing them during her lunch break.

While she loved teaching, planning lessons had never been her strong suit, but she always enjoyed looking at the end result and putting it forth into her lessons.

She couldn't help but frown to herself as she thought back on the last two weeks. Despite vast amounts of preparation, excitement, and fun activities, she still ended up having two students sent to the principal's office twice! She knew it wasn't her fault, but she somehow felt like a failure.

She wasn't as stern as some teachers, she wasn't as funny as others, and while she knew that a lot of the students loved her lessons, she was the only teacher who had encountered such problems with her students. There was undoubtedly no end of coincidences as to why the fighting and arguing had only happened in her classroom, but as the type of person who always saw herself as a failure, she blamed herself.

Elise perched herself on a stool at the bar. She quickly noticed the curious look from the bartender, no doubt due to the bruising that had etched its way under both her eyes.

"What's your poison, darling?" he asked as he flipped a rag over his shoulder.

"Whiskey - any at all, please. Neat," she replied.

The bartender smiled and nodded, "coming right up."

Within a few seconds, he placed the drink in front of her. She was flicking through her wallet to pay him when a voice made her jump.

"I'll get that for her, Spencer; just put it on my tab."

Elise jolted her head towards the voice quickly, her hair swaying over her shoulder as she moved. "Sheriff Grimes," she smiled. "You didn't have to do that."

Rick began to chuckle, "It's my way of making up for the fact my son may or may not have hit you in the face."

She lowered her head, covering her smirk, "Well, thank you, I appreciate the gesture."

Rick leaned against the bar with his drink in hand, "how's it feeling?" he asked, nodding and looking towards her nose and eyes.

Elise shrugged casually, "It's sore, worse at night when I'm trying to go to sleep."

Rick nodded in understanding, "yeah, I've been on the receiving end of a fair share of punches. Perks of the job," he said sarcastically before taking a sip of his drink and finishing the last mouthful.

Elise tried to read his expression; he looked amused but also annoyed, frustrated, and somewhat nervous.

She took a small sip of her drink. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the taste, her body finally relaxing after receiving its craving.

Rick eyed her carefully, his eyes drifting between her face, neck and body. He inwardly scolded himself for eyeing her up, but he couldn't help but notice how the dress she wore clung to her hips and draped across her crossed knees.

Elise had caught him staring from the corner of her eye, but she brushed it off and ignored his gaze. She was trying to find a way of starting a conversation, but she had always been awkward when it came to new people.