Stray // Daryl Dixon

Damage Case

* Five Days Earlier *

I twirled on the ball of my feet, laughing as I skipped down the road. My glass of wine spilled over the rim onto my left hand as I carelessly stumbled, the strap of my heels dangling on my index finger in my right hand as Glenn walked beside me. He picked up his pace to a jog every so often just to keep up, a boisterous laugh coming from his throat. We had been acting like stupid kids the entire night, even though we often felt far from it now. Aaron and Eric's party had been coming to an end, but we refused to let go of the time we had tonight. 

My bare feet finally dragged across the freshly-cut grass leading to the gazebo down by the pond, my toes no doubt covered in black soot by now. Glenn carried the remaining bottle of wine in his hand as he followed me, taking a large gulp from it. Maggie had gone to bed about an hour ago, a wide grin on her face as she told him to not get himself into too much trouble. He kissed her goodnight and looked at me with a devilish smile on his face. I threw my heels down on the grass in a thud before chugging back the remains of my glass and placing it down gently.

"We're going up there," I said, pointing up at the roof of the gazebo. I climbed up onto the bench, placing one foot on the pillar as I grabbed onto the lip of the roof. "Don't look!" I laughed, scolding Glenn as I pushed off the pillar and hoisted myself up, my dress lifting with the angle of my legs.

"I wouldn't dare!" Glenn yelled up at me, a chuckle coming from him. Seconds later I peered over the edge, my arm dangling down to take the wine bottle from Glenn as he now hoisted his own body up.

"I haven't been this drunk since the CDC," I said, my own voice sounding like it was moving in slow motion. Glenn plopped down beside me, our feet hanging over the edge as we stared down at the pond. The world seemed lighter up here, the moon bouncing off the ripple of the water as little fireflies floated by.

"Same," Glenn exhaled, falling backwards to sprawl out on the roof. He misjudged it, smacking his head on the wood. I choked on the sip of wine I had been drinking, unable to keep myself from laughing. From the corner of my eye, I could see him harshly rubbing the back of his head like he was trying to massage away the pain. The world seemed to fall quiet for a moment, both Glenn and I sitting in silence. Then Glenn let out a breathy laugh, "Remember when you crawled into Daryl's bed thinking it was ours?"

I snickered, pushing his shoulder harshly. His eyes jerked open from his peaceful state. "Shut up. Yes," I seethed.

"Who would have thought you'd willingly share a room with him now?" he laughed. I didn't answer as he continued, "When you walked back into our room the next morning with that mortified look on your face as you said I couldn't speak a word about it if you told me," Glenn sat back up, prying the wine bottle from out of my hands and taking a swig.

I furrowed my brows and responded, "Yeah?"

"It was such a dumb childish moment, but right then I knew I loved you." I looked over at him, a stupid grin on his face. "It was the very first moment in this new world where I felt like things weren't so terrible anymore because I had found a friend that I would love dearly."

I sucked in a breath, grabbing the wine bottle from his hands and taking another sip, "Your dumbass is going to make me cry," I said, looking over at him and smiling. I placed the bottle down in my lap, fidgeting with it. He flung out the word love so effortlessly, such a difficult word for me to use. I had said it once to him jokingly. When he had come back for me when the herd had blown through the Greene's farmhouse. "I had felt that same way," I agreed, still seeming to avoid those words even though I felt them.

"When?" Glenn pressed, wanting me to share that moment with him as well.

"The night before when you had made a toast. You said I'm really glad we're both not dead... together and I knew we were in it for the long haul."