ᗯᕼEᑎ TᕼE ᗪEᗩᗪ ᑕOᗰE ᗩᒪIᐯE [ ᴅᴀʀʏʟ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ]

- 6 -

"Take them off" he said. His eyes were locked with mine showing that he was serious. He watched as panic filled my eyes before I gave in. I moved my hands to the hem of my leggings, my fingers slipping under the black fabric. I carefully slid them down to my ankles. Thankfully the shirt was big enough that it hid my black underwear I had underneath, however I couldn't help but feel flustered by the situation.

"Damn" Daryl whispered upon seeing the size of the cut that had been revealed with the black fabric now gone. When I looked down, it was only then that I realized the cut had been there the whole time. Daryl examined the cut before he grabbed a small first aid kit that he had in his room. He grabbed some rubbing alcohol, and a cloth. I watched as he poured the liquid onto the cloth, and cleaned my wound. It stung a bit causing my face to scrunch up. After Daryl had cleaned the cut, it began to bleed to which I held the cloth to and applied pressure to slow down the bleeding while Daryl got some bandages. He gently wrapped my bloody cut, making sure the bandage was tight enough to stop the bleeding but not enough to cut off circulation. Now that my cut was bandaged, I moved to pull my pants up when Daryl stopped me.

"Why don't you just leave them off. Iv already seen everything" he said in his same monotone voice. I fell a tiny wave of embarrassment wash over me, but unfortunately he had a valid point. After a slow nod he grabbed the black fabric around my ankles, and carefully pulled them off. I retracted my legs as he did so. The tatters black fabric was discarded to the corner of the room, and a short silence filled the room. I pulled the black t-shirt down as far as I could.

"Well, we should get some rest now" Daryl broke the silence. He walked over to his bed. I watched silently from were I sat on the floor. When he turned around as he got on the bed, he locked eyes with mine and patted the bed beside him.

I stayed still.

"Come" he said, and patted the bed once more. I stood up, and slowly made my way over to the bed. The mattress was big enough for three people so Daryl rolled over to the other end to give me plenty of space. It was too hot for a comforter so there was just a thick sheet which Daryl pulled over the two of us. Admittedly the bed was comfortable—much more that I was expecting—but I felt nervous. Nervous because of the man I was sharing a bed with. It was almost like I had caught feeling—no. I promised I wouldn't fall in love. With my thoughts running rampant, I didn't realize that at some point I had closed my eyes. My thoughts slowed, and soon I fell into a deep sleep.

.•*Time Skip*•.

I was warm, and it was comforting. It had felt like the bed had swallowed me whole. I felt like I could sleep forever, but I didn't because I knew what was still happening behind the walls. Slowly I opened my eyes, blinking as I adjusted to my surroundings. As I did, I noticed that I was looking at a black t-shirt that covered a hard chest. In slight shock I looked around. My hand were resting near Daryl's chest, my knees curled in towards his outstretched legs. After realizing what kind of position I was in, I quickly moved back. I started at the males closed eyes as he rested his head on his arm, the other placed by his side. I had been curled up in a fetus position as if I had been snuggling up to him. I wanted to scream from embarrassment or hit myself in the head. Why Y/n? Why why why?, I repeated in my head in frustration. I had just shared—and will be sharing—a bed with a guy I had stated to develop feelings for despite continuously, and forcefully pushing them deep down while hoping they wouldn't resurfacing. Unfortunately, I had failed at that task as I caught myself staring at the males face. A small temptation to kiss him crossed my mind. Why, why, WHY?!, I cursed at myself, not aware that I had started to lean in closer. I'm not really doing this am I? I questioned myself. He looked so peaceful and vulnerable as he lay there before me. As my face moved closer to his, I battled with my heart and mind. I stopped once I was close enough to admire his features. I trailed from his eyes, nose, ears, down to his lips. I was about to give into the temptation when something unexpected happened. A gut feeling, making me to back away, and just in time as Daryl's eyes soon opened. He looked directly at me, startling me. Next thing I know, I'm stumbling backwards off the bed, and my ass hit the floor. The sound of the bare skin of my hands hitting the floor followed suit as I caught myself so my head wouldn't hit the floor again.

"What are you doing?" Daryl asked in a husk morning voice, now looking at me as I lay on the floor. I didn't know how to answer the question so I stayed quiet. I pulled my legs off of the bed, and sat properly on the floor. I searched my head for some way to answer the question but I came up short. Instead, I slowly got up and left the room. This left Daryl confused, but he quickly shook it off.

"Fuck! What were you thinking?!" I shouted in a whisper to myself. I ran my fingers through my hair in hopes to relieve some stress. I had to bury those feeling I was slowly developing, and I had to do it fast. I didn't need such feelings becoming a burden, and weight me down in this world of the resurrected dead.

Now that I was away from Daryl, I walked into the kitchen to grab myself a glass of water. I chugged the water, taking in the refreshingly cold feeling. It was then that I remembered the only thing I had on was the big black t-shirt Daryl had gave me. I began to panic at the sudden sound of footsteps moving around upstairs. If someone saw me like this I would be embarrassed to death. Unfortunately I had been frozen in place, unable to get myself to move. I started to freak out as I heard the footsteps move to the stairs now. Right as the footsteps moved down the last few steps, and I thought for sure I was fucked, I was suddenly picked up bridal style and carried back into the room. As the door shut behind us, I was then set down as I turned to look at Daryl.

"What do you think you're doing out there with just a shirt on?" He asked in a slightly teasing tone. I was sure my cheeks were tinted pink at his words. All I was able to do was stand there, staring at the ground while pulling my shirt down in front of me.

After a short silence, he let out a sigh of defeat as he threw my black leggings to me. It was the pair I had dunked in the river, only now they were mostly dry.

"Put them on, then we're heading out to get you new clothes" he said, then turned and walked out the door. It was now silent. I might as well get use to this, I sighed. I pulled up my leggings, not bothering to change my shirt as the other was still wet, and would be quite uncomfortable to wear.

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Chapter 6: End