Silent, fast, and lethal

5/8

Next day was even worse, and you felt your heart breaking more and more as you realized you had, indeed, messed what you had with Daryl. When you woke up that morning, your head and eyes hurt after spending the most part of the night crying, and you just felt even worse when you realized Daryl had gone hunting earlier than usual without telling you anything. You knew he had done it because he didn't want you going with him.

For a couple of days you harbored the hope that Daryl'd eventually stop being angry at you and things would get better between you two, but almost a week had passed and he still avoided you, didn't ask you to join him anymore, didn't talk to you or let you talk to him when you tried, didn't look at you even.

You felt heartbroken. You missed going out with him, training, you missed your quiet talks in the yard at night. You missed him so much, you didn't know how to stop the hurt. You were now sat down on a table, feeling miserable, staring at the people who worked putting down the walkers at the other side of the fence, contemplating joining them.

"Hey, Y/N." You felt a hand on your shoulder and you looked up to find Mark looking at you. "You okay?" You only shrugged but nodded. "It's been some days since I saw you going out..." It felt like a dart to the chest but you knew he didn't mean to hurt you. "So I was wondering if maybe you would want to come up to the watchtower with me, it's kind of boring to be alone up there and you looked like maybe you too could use some company and chat for a bit..."

Mark shrugged shyly and you didn't know what to do. You had kept yourself away from everyone, even from Maggie, who you knew was worried about you, but you didn't feel like giving explanations about why Daryl and you didn't go out together anymore, didn't even speak to each other, you were embarrassed and afraid you might just start crying if you talked about it.

But Mark looked worried and kind, and maybe it was time to stop keeping yourself away from everyone. Maybe the company would do you some good and so you nodded and followed Mark up to the watchtower. To your relief, he kept the conversation light, not asking you about what was bothering you or pressing you into talking. You shared little things about your life before, talked about life in the prison, and it helped you feel even just a bit better, and you ended up saying there during all Mark's shift.

"Hey, Y/N..." Mark began when you were about to walk down the stairs. "Look I'm gonna tell you something, I've meant to for a while but...nevermind...so, I think if I don't just say it I'm never going to do it so..." You looked at him, confused, but let him talk without saying anything. "I know this is going to sound stupid, and asking someone for a date in this world is kind of ridiculous, but I think you're really amazing, so...yeah, well, that..."

You could only stare at him, confused, not finding words. Was he saying that he wanted to have a date with you? That you were amazing? You didn't understand why. You didn't know what to say or do.

"And I just made everything awkward...sorry, Y/N, just forget it." Mark gave you an embarrassed smile.

"It's not that, just...I don't know what to say." You babbled.

"It's okay, Y/N, you don't have to say anything," Mark squeezed your shoulder before turning over to walk down the stairs. "If you ever want to talk or something again, I'm up for it okay?"

Later that day you were sat down on your bed, thinking about what had happened in the watchtower. You couldn't believe Mark'd asked you out on a date. You didn't even know how you had a date in a prison surrounded by walkers.

Since corpses began roaming the world you'd never thought about dating or stuff like that, you had other things in your mind, more important, and you hadn't met anyone who changed that...until Daryl, and you hadn't meant to fall for him like that, it had just happened and you hadn't been able to stop it. But Daryl wasn't interested, that much was clear. By now, it seemed he wasn't even interested in being your friend.