Meet Me Under Our Willow (A Daryl Dixon Pre-Apocalypse Love Story)

Chapter 10 - Friendly Neighbors

I shoot up from my bed, panting. I can't believe I dreamed about Daryl, again. I need to stop letting him get into my head. I haven't talked to him in months, and every time I see him he just storms away when we make eye contact. It's infuriating. I didn't do anything to deserve this poor treatment.

Today is the first day of school and I can't believe how fast the summer went by. My classroom has been all set up and I'm finishing up lesson plans for the whole year. I have a good feeling about my new job, and I think I'm going to enjoy it very much.

I go and wake Noah up then get dressed myself. I chose black slacks, short heels, and a pale pink blouse. I curl my hair and put my make up on. When I go out to the kitchen, Noah is hunched over a bowl of cereal. I make myself a bagel and we eat in silence.

"Do you remember our plan?" I ask, "Just meet by my car when school gets out and I'll try not to be too long."

He only nods. I can't seem to get two words out of him ever since we got here.

When we get to the schools, Noah gets out of the car and heads over to the high school. I go into the elementary and head to my classroom. Once I get my computer fired up and double check everything, I just wait for the students to arrive.

And when they finally do, we begin the day.

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"Bye, kids! I'll see you tomorrow!" I tell them as they file out of the room at the end of they day.

There is a chorus of, "Bye, Ms. Matthew!" as they all give my a high-five as they pass me. I love the group of kids I have, and today went very well, I thought. When they all leave, I shut my computer down and pack my things. Noah's probably already waiting for me. I hear a knock on my door.

A younger man comes in, his shiny and straight teeth glowing as he grins at me. He can't be much older than me.

"Hi, you must be Ms. Matthews. My classroom is next door and I was just checking to see if you've settled in okay."

He's extremely handsome. He has perfectly styled brown hair and deep green eyes. He's tall. And I quickly glance at his left hand and notice no ring.

"My day went great, thank you." I finally say.

"Well, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask me." he said, "Oh, and my name is Austin, by the way."

"Quinn." I said, shaking his hand, "Nice to meet you."

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The week flew by, and I'm really starting to get to know the kids. And Austin. He comes to my classroom everyday after the kids get let out to see if my day went well. And I learned that his last name is Burke. He's a really nice guy.

Speaking of not-so-nice guys, I ran into Daryl at one point in the week. I was walking into the diner to get dinner for Noah and I at the same time he was walking out.

"Watch where yer goin', girl." he growled at me then brushed past me.

I haven't seen him since, and I don't know if I want to. He's being childish. When we get home from school on Friday, all I want to do is lay down and take a nap. But, I need to grade these papers so I can spend time with my parents this weekend because they're coming to visit. I decide to go outside to grade, it's nice weather today.

I gather up my things and head out to my willow tree. As I walk down the path, I wonder why Daryl is treating me this way. I need to stop thinking about him, because I'm just going to get hurt. I stop in my tracks when I reach the tree. Speak of the devil...

Daryl sits under the tree, smoking a cigarette. How dare he come back here, on my property. I ought to give him a piece of my mind.

"You better get out of here before I call the cops for trespassing." I warn, walking towards him.

His head snaps in my direction, and he narrows his eyes and scoffs, "I'd like to see ye try."

I pull my phone out and dial the local police station. On the second ring,  the phone is ripped out of my hand.

"Hey!" I yell as he hangs up the phone. "What the hell?"

"Are ye stupid or somethin'?" he growls, "Ye can't just call the cops like that."

"Why not? You're on my property, which means you're trespassing." I snapped, snatching my phone out of his hand.

We glared at each other, until he finally snorted and stepped back, holding his hands up in a mocking manner,

"Fine, I'll just leave."

"Good."

He turned, but I hear him mutter, "Bitch."

"Asshole."

He faces me, "Excuse me?"

"You fucking heard me, you prick. I'm so sick of your shitty treatment towards me. You're acting childish and you need to get over it, okay? I've done nothing wrong here. You're just being a self-centered bastard."

He came forward until he was standing right in front of me, and I could feel his angry breath on my face. I stood taller, and glared harder.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, my voice low as a threat.

He scanned my face, and his upper lip curled slightly. He breathing deepened and he stepped back.

"That's what I thought. And if you ever come back here again, I wi--"

I get cut off my rough lips being smashed on mine.