Firecracker ➝ Daryl Dixon

Chapter 11: Captivated

The backpack sat uncomfortably on her shoulders and with each step the contents bounced against each other.  Arden’s thumbs hooked under the straps, attempting to relieve the pressure but it was no good.  “Wanna stop?”  Her brown eyes narrowed at the back of Daryl’s head hoping that her stare could start a fire.  It didn’t.  Instead it caused Daryl to look over his shoulder and witness her struggle.

The duo had been walking for over three hours nonstop while each carrying backpacks with food, water, and ammo.  Hour number one had been through a relatively flat landscape, hour number two went up a hill and hour number three was spent walking along the tracks looking for a sign that wasn’t there.  “Why?” Arden hissed, her breathing ragged and her skin coated in sweat, “You tired?”

Daryl’s backpack hit the ground with a thud but Arden didn’t mirror his actions.  Instead she walked past the male.  “Ya need to stop walkin,” Daryl called but Arden ignored him.  His fists clenched before picking up the backpack and catching up the Arden.  Roughly he ripped the backpack off her shoulders and threw it to the side, “I said to stop walkin.”

“I swear to god!”  Arden swung around, smacking Daryl’s chest and pointing her finger in his face, “You are so fucking rude!”  Despite the relief brought upon by the removal of the bag Arden stomped over to the backpack and swung it over her shoulders.  “You need to learn manners,” she muttered, adjusting the straps and attempting to breathe through the pain.

Her eyes scanned their surroundings.  Miles of track lay before and behind them with no sign of exactly where they would find Matt.  “He had to have left something,” she muttered to herself before dropping her backpack.  She refused to meet Daryl’s gaze and admit defeat but he was right- she needed a break.  Her bottom lightly met the railing of the train tracks while her elbows rested on her knees and hands explored her scalp.  A shiver ran down her spine- what if they didn’t find him?  She was pulled out of her anxious thoughts by a paper bag hitting her leg. 

“Eat,” Daryl instructed, digging through his own paper bag and pulling out pieces of leftover deer.

Arden scowled, picked up the bag, and threw it at Daryl.  It hit his chest and fell into his lap, knocking his lunch bag to the ground.  “You can’t just throw stuff at people,” Arden pushed herself up and walked towards the male, “Instead you can politely hand it to me.”

Daryl picked up the bag and gently tossed it up to Arden.  It hit her chest and fumbled in her hands but eventually ended up on the ground.  A closed lipped smile played on Daryl’s face, “Who taught you to catch girl?”

“Same person who taught you manners boy,” Arden huffed and picked up the bag.  She sat next to Daryl, their shoulders nearly touching.  At the proximity Daryl scooted away awkwardly which made Arden raise an eyebrow. 

“Scared of cooties?” she mocked, inching towards Daryl until their shoulders touched once again. 

Daryl flinched at the contact, “Nah,” he glanced at Arden who was picking through the deer meat.  The sight made Daryl smirk because for as tough as Arden tried to be she was such a pussy.  “Stop pickin at it.”

Arden rolled her eyes, placing a piece of burnt meat into Daryl’s bag and wiping her hand on her jeans, “Maybe if someone didn’t burn it,” she placed a piece of the tough meat into her mouth, “You should have let Carol cook it.”

Daryl snorted, “Should be grateful I even cooked you some.”

The meat rolled around in her mouth before sliding down her dry throat.  Without asking she grabbed Daryl’s water bottle and fountained some into her mouth.  “Thanks,” she whispered, placing the bottle back down, “I was wondering,” she began, her eyes staring down at the food.  She waited a few moments before shaking her head, “Nevermind.”