The group met Aaron and Eric for dinner in an old community center. The large banquet hall held two long fold-out tables, placed end-to-end to make one long one, and they were covered with dark blue table cloths. Bowls of food were placed down the center of the tables with a plain, white plate at each setting.
As they filed in and chose their seats they talked amongst themselves, discussing their new living arrangements and the other survivors they had met.
“Who’d they stick you with?” Tilly asked Tara as she took a chair next to the brunette, Daryl settling in on her other side. The other woman appeared to be freshly showered, like Tilly, and was sporting a clean, gray button-up shirt and jeans, her short hair hanging loose around her face.
“Beth, thankfully,” Tara smiled. “I was worried I’d end up with Eugene. Can you imagine? There’d be mullet hair all over the shower, and I just couldn’t handle that.”
Tilly threw back her head and laughed. “You’d never be able to bring a woman home either,” she added. “He’d probably be watching through the crack under the door.”
Tara lightly punched her in the arm, her nose crinkling up in disgust, which only made Tilly laugh harder.
To her right, Daryl was leaned toward Rick, the two of them talking quietly.
“What’s the meeting all about?” Daryl questioned, his face locked into his trademarked scowl.
“Aaron’s supposed to give us our job assignments,” he answered, leaning down momentarily to pick up a spoon Judith dropped on the floor. “I’m sure he’ll go over the rules of the place, but I figure most importantly this is our chance to ask questions.”
“Like what the hell they’re doing giving away half of their shit to a bunch of thugs?” Daryl spat.
Rick nodded. “We’ll also need to address the situation with those people and Be-“
“Excuse me,” Aaron interrupted, gaining the attention of the room. “Feel free to help yourselves to whatever you’d like, and I’ll fill you in on your assignments as you eat.”
The survivors didn’t need to be told twice, and began passing around the bowls of food and spooning it onto their plates.
“God,” Tilly mumbled, “am I glad to see this spread. I think Beth and I had a handful of pretzels between us over the past couple of days.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” Daryl asked seriously. “You been sitting around here starving all day.”
“Clearly, I’ve survived,” she chuckled. “To be honest, I was a little preoccupied earlier. Food didn’t even cross my mind.” She winked at him, and his face grew noticeably red.
“Shut up and eat something,” he mumbled. She smiled smugly as she began poking at her plate, satisfied she’d gotten a rise out of him.
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A Painful Place (Walking Dead Fanfiction)
FanfictionWhen the world goes dark, Tilly is forced to survive on the road with her best friends. That is, until they're captured and held in a train car in a place that was supposed to provide sanctuary. When they're rescued by Daryl, Rick, and company they'...
