High Hopes ~Daryl Dixon~

Chapter Nine.

The rest of the day flowed surprisingly easy. Our two groups seemed to adapt to each other well, there weren't any problems, if anything we just stayed out of each others ways. I know that them staying was only temporary, daddy would want them gone when Carl was healed but I actually liked having then around. It was nice to see new faces. 

        My whole life I've been a very social person. And spending the last couple of months around the same people doing the same things was grating on me. I knew them- everything about them and I wouldn't want to change any of that for the world, but sometimes I craved the company of someone new. Someone who didn't know me. Who didn't know what I  have been through, what I've lost. I can be whoever I wanted around them. I can pretend things haven't happened -not forever, this world wouldn't allow that. But it would last long enough to give me a sense of peace and dull the ache in my heart. 

        I liked Rick. There was something about him -maybe it was me witnessing his devotion and love towards his son but I trusted him. He was the kind of person who wasn't easily influenced. He would do what he could to protect his own and I admired that wholeheartedly. We need more men like him. 

        I had no opinion on Lori. I don't like her but I don't necessarily not like her either. She's kind of just there. Maybe's it's because I haven't really spoken to her much yet. But maybe it's because I can see her pretending to be two different people. I'm a people watcher. I can't help it. My mind wonders and I sometimes find myself analyzing people. All through out the day, Lori's caught my eye. She's Rick's wife and I can see that she loves him, but even when she's with him, her eyes are nearly always on Shane. I can't judge because it's only been a day. I could be reading in to the whole situation wrong, but something tells me with the lingering looks i'm not.

        And Shane. I wanted desperately to like Shane. But he's an unreadable kind of man -The kind of man who holds secrets close to his heart, hidden away from others. Those kind of men are dangerous and not to be trusted. 

        But it was Daryl that had me confused. He was a lot like Shane in the aspect of keeping his secrets close to his heart. He didn't want people to see what was troubling him.He was closed off -I noticed that on our very first encounter in the woods. But with the similarities there were the differences. They were easy to notice when you looked hard enough. And I had. It was kind of hard not too. There's no denying it Daryl Dixon is a very attractive man, but he didn't know it. He was insecure -about everything. He doubted every turn, every situation. And it was his eyes and body language that expressed those feelings. His blue eyes were guarded but when they were his body language wasn't and spoke loudly for it's self. I can't be sure with that, but from what I had noticed in the few times I'd been with him, he wasn't sure about anything.

        The rest of the group I haven't had the privilege of acquainting myself with them yet. Most of them spent the day supporting their roles in their groups. Working. 

        I was supposed to have been doing the same thing. I was on chicken duty today, however considering Elle's breakdown earlier, she managed to bribe me out of work. Claiming she wanted me to play with her. And I did.

        It was nice. We sat outside, on the grass below the porch, having a tea party, with her teddy swan Susan. People stared but it wasn't out of judgement, they were curious. I know they were, I would have been. And Elle didn't seem to care. She just smiled and waved to everyone that passed by, at one point she even managed to persuade Beth to join us. She did with out question. 

        It was evening now and diner had just been served, daddy, Beth, Patricia, Jimmy, Maggie, Elle and I sat around the kitchen table like we normally did, however this time felt different. I felt uncomfortable sitting in a house at a dining Table with my family, whilst the other group was forced to stay outside and cook their own food on a fire. It didn't feel right to me.