The Best of Me ( Rickyl )

Chapter 2

"Should I call a tow truck?" Rick asked, standing beside him as they both stared at the engine, but Daryl shook his head.

"Nah, I got it." He replied and leant over the hood as he began to fiddle with the loose wire, trying to distract himself from the man next to him, but that didn't really work when Rick started to talk to him.

"I'm sorry about my friends. They try to be funny, but only succeed at being idiots." Rick said Daryl hummed in agreement as he finished twisting the loose wires together. Ricks friends were real jerks and for a while Daryl thought that Rick might be like them too, but now he knew he wasn't.

"Rick, c'mon let's go." Shane shouted as he pulled up beside them causing Rick to sigh as he stood up and Daryl did the same, glancing towards the group in the car before looking back at him.

"It's alright, ya don't have to wait around." Daryl muttered, knowing Rick probably didn't want to be hanging around him for any longer than he needed to. He was used to it, plus he should probably get home soon anyway if he didn't want his father to go off at him for getting home late. "Thanks for your help."

"No worries, anytime." Rick replied with a friendly smile before he walked back towards his friends and jumped over the back door of the convertible as Shane sped off. He watched as the car disappeared down the road before Glenn and Maggie walked around the back of her car towards him and Daryl knew he was in trouble by the expression on their faces.

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way because you're my best friend and all, but you are a jackass. Did you not see that guy who just pushed a car to try and talk to you?" Glenn questioned, staring at him in disbelief, but Daryl shook his head as he pulled down the bonnet of Maggie's car.

"Nah, he was just bein' nice. He's nice." He muttered, glancing between his two friends who were staring at him like he was stupid.

"Yeah, he is. He's also hot, even I can appreciate that." Glenn responded causing Daryl to scoff.

"He is hot." Maggie agreed and Daryl sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument with the two of them teaming up against him, so he decided to end the conversation.

"Start the car up, it'll be fine now. I'll see you guys tomorrow at school."

-

*Present*

Daryl hadn't talked to anyone in his family since he was a teenager and he didn't indent to renew their acquaintance now. Just a quick trip in and out of town. He'd do what he had to do and he didn't plan on hanging around any longer than he had to.

He'd been driving for over six hours now, but he didn't mind the long drive. It was nice to just sit in his truck with the windows down, the radio playing softly in the background as he drove across the country.

He spent most the drive debating where to stay the night once he got into town. There was a bed and breakfast motel that was pretty cheap, but if he stayed there it was only a matter of time before word spread that he was back in town and he didn't want his family to know.

At least his family lived on a property on the far side of the town. A bunch of old rundown cabins and small rusty trailers covered the land that his father and cousins called home. His Uncle Jesse used to live there too until a drug deal gone wrong got him killed, but despite being a drug dealer his uncle was probably the best out of all of them.

Daryl was only a boy when he died, but his uncle never yelled at him or hurt him and he loved his two sons more than anything, something Daryl could only dream of. But once he died Daryl's father, Will, became the legal guardian for his cousins and turned the sweet innocent kids into something his uncle would be ashamed of.