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Daryl Dixon X OC Fanfiction

All I’ve Ever Known part 2

******************

They weren't there.

Her family wasn't there.

The highway had been abandoned and all that was left was a water soaked note and a pile of rotting food. Ellie had tried her damndest to read the writing on the piece of paper but the ink had run and the words were nothing more than black smudges and streaks. It had been weeks since Sophia had been on this very highway, a part of Ellie knew they wouldn't still be there but the tiniest bit of hope she still had was currently being squashed out by the inconsolable 10 year old girl tugging her knees to her chest and sobbing in the middle of the road.

"They left me.. they forgot about me. My mom said... she always said to come to where I got lost! I came back.. I came back!" Her tiny shoulders shook with each heartbreaking gasp the little girl took. Ellie squatted in front of her and pulled her to her chest, she couldn't find the words right now, they were stuck somewhere in a painful memory of her own past. This situation felt all too familiar.

Surprisingly enough it was Merle who spoke up

" they didn't forget about ya kid. I know my brother, Daryl's probably out there right now lookin' for ya. Your mama too. No one abandoned ya, we're gonna find em all.. just takes time is all." He stared down at the two girls huddled on the floor, Ellie quirked a brow at the uncharacteristic softness to his voice, Sophia sniffled as her breathing slowly went back to normal.

"You really think so?" Her eyes flicked from Merle to Ellie.

"Of Course Soph. I told you we ain't stoppin' until you're back in your mamas arms. We're doing good, we just gotta beat them to it."

"But what if they think I'm dead? what if they gave up because they thought I couldn't make it?" She whispered, standing up and wiping off the dirt from her jeans.

Ellie stayed seated propping her chin in her hands and resting her forearms over her bent knees, she grinned

"Well then imagine their surprise when they see you stroll back into that camp all smiling and in one piece."

Merle chuckled and reached down a hand to help her up.

"Got all the time in the world." He sassed playfully.

Ellie rolled her eyes and elbowed the much taller man before the sound of moaning and shuffling filled her ears. It was so sudden, they hadn't even heard them coming when all of a sudden a group of about thirty walkers rushed out of the woods headed directly towards them

"Son of a bitch!" Merle cursed, stumbling back as the scent overwhelmed them.

"Get Sophia up in that tree!" Ellie ordered, shoving a walker back and burying her knife in its skull. Merle was quick to scoop the shaking little girl up and deposit her on the highest, thickest limb he could find.

"Why didn't we hear them? Were they hidin'? How the hell is that possible?" Merle shouted over the hissing and snapping of the creatures jaws.

"I don't know! The eyes... the eyes are different!" Ellie threw one of her knives directly into the back of a walker that was pulling on Merle's jacket. And stomped on the head of another writhing on the ground.

Instead of the grey and sickly yellow eyes that the Walkers usually had these walkers had black and bloody eyes almost as if someone had spilled ink into their eye sockets.

"We got sick zombies now?!" Merle yelled.

Sophia was crying painfully up in the tree as she stared down at her friends fighting for their lives. Ellie glanced up just for a second to see the absolutely terrified look on the child's face.

"Hey soph!" The curly haired brunette shouted into the air as she lodged another knife into the temple of a walker "what's the capital of Kansas?"

Merle snapped his eyes over to Ellie, his "hand" covered in walker guts. He was looking at her like she was insane.

"I don't.. I don't know!" Sophia sobbed.

"Oh come on.. ooof." Ellie fell back into the hard surface of a tree, she could feel the bruises forming already "you know this one! It's easy.. the capital of Kansas Soph, what is it?"

Merle pulled out his gun, the silencer clicked on as he shot at the rest of the walkers in front of him.

"umm.. ummm." Sophie struggled, her eyes jottinf from Merle to Ellie, back and forth.

"Tick tock, tick tock. Times running out!" Ellie looked up to see Sophia's eye brow knit in concerned concentration.

The last walker, shifted pitifully towards Ellie, she lifted her knife above its head

"Topeka!" Sophia shouted.

Blood splattered across Ellie's face coating her cheeks and forehead in a slick sheet of sticky red.

"Ding ding ding." Ellie whispered, finally dropping her back to a tree and letting the knife slip from her hands onto the floor, a tired smile on her face as Merle grinned at her, finally understanding exactly what she was doing.

Distraction from the chaos.

It wasn't until they were setting up camp for the night that Merle cornered her by the flimsy fire they had built, his arms crossed as he smirked down at her.

"Can I help you?" Ellie quirked a brow.

"You're a teacher. At least ya were, s'why you're so good with the kid and why ya know all those random useless facts." He grinned proudly at his deductive reasoning skills.

Ellie chucked the rest of the fire wood onto the flame and wiped her hand on her knees as she stood before Merle with her arms mirroring his own.

"Oh yeah? Ya think so?"

"I know so." He shrugged cockily.

Ellie giggled

"Try again Dixon. I didn't even graduate Highschool."

She never thought she'd see a shocked and speechless Merle Dixon but when his jaw dropped and his eyes widened she couldn't help but laugh, she turned her back to him and walked off to drape a second blanket over Sophia who was sleeping comfortably by the fire. She heard Merle shuffle after her

"Why the hell didn't ya finish High School? yer the smartest little lady I ever saw." He questioned, adjusting his own position by the fire and patting the spot beside him for her to sit down.

Ellie plopped into the open space.

"Just didn't see a point, couldn't afford college anyhow and no one was giving the trailer trash orphan any scholarships. I was waitin' tables when the virus hit. Probably for the best, don't think a degree would do me any good in this mess." She laughed lightly.

Something flashed across Merle's eyes, something awfully close understanding with just the tiniest bit of sympathy.

"How do ya know all that shit then?"

Ellie turned towards him and tapped her temple.

"Photographic memory. I was born with it, I used to steal memorize the teachers lesson plans and hand in about two months worth of homework before it was even assigned. It used to drive em all crazy." She chuckled.

Merle smiled fondly at the tiny little woman to his right.

" I got a brother ya know. Real smart, sweet as hell too. He's gonna love you."

Ellie shook her head quickly

"I ain't stickin' around. I'm just helpin y'all find your family, after that I'm off on my own, I do better alone anyway."

Merle looked at the beautiful woman beside him and god she reminded him so much of his brother it almost hurt to watch her.

"Seem to be doin just fine with us." He offered.

Ellie looked up and nodded softly

"This is different." She whispered, eyes flicking to the sleeping little girl in the corner.

Merle nodded

"Don't matter anyway, Daryl'l find ya. People like you two. Ya always find each other in the end." He shrugged.

The light hearted playfulness was back in Ellie's eyes and she landed a punch to Merle's shoulder

"I ain't lookin for a boyfriend at the End Of The World." She teased.

Merle shoved her right back and grinned

"There ain't many good people left in this world, you and my brother are the best of em. Might be good for the End Of The World.. mate and make some sweet ass babies."

Ellie's eyes widened for a second and Merle couldn't keep the laughter down when he saw the look of pure terror on her face, she nearly knocked him off the seat with her next punch.

"You just want me to be your sister in law is all. I know your game," she teased.

Merle looked over at her big brown eyes and scarred cheeks. Daryl deserves someone like her and she deserved someone like him.

"Whatever sis." He winked "get some rest, we're goin husband huntin' tomorrow."

He ignored her grumbled curse and watched as she nestled into the ripped up blanket.

Daryl was gonna owe him big time for this one.

[erikamariapell]

Daryl Dixon X OC

All I’ve Ever Known Part 1

********************

"Never thought you'd miss Winter huh?" Ellie Mitchell whispered, talking to herself had become a source of comfort. She couldn't count the amount of conversations she'd had solely with herself to keep the voices out of her head. Singing worked too, not loud enough to lure walkers but just enough to fill the constant silence she'd lived in for almost two years now.

"All I've ever known is how to hold my own

All I've ever known is how to hold my own

But now I wanna hold you too

Now I wanna hold you."

The words were like a second language to her now, she'd written that song years ago in the back booth of a greasy run down diner with her mamas old guitar. She sang when the sun was shining or the rain pouring, she sang when she didn't think she could make it another day on an empty stomach or when her bones hurt so bad she thought they would snap. She sang when the moans and groans of the walkers kept her up at night.

The snap of a branch had Ellie swinging around, knife poised and ready to throw at whatever thought it was a good idea to sneak up on her. A flash of bright blue and blonde zoomed past, far too quick to be a walker but too small to be any kind of grown man. The blur of blue fabric lunged behind a tree, a dirty sneaker sticking out from its hiding place... small foot.. faded rainbow laces and smiley face stickers on the heel.

Holy shit.. was this.. was this a kid?

"You can come on out, I already saw ya. If I wanted to hurt ya you'd be gone already." Ellie spoke firmly, if she was wrong and this was some kind of trap it was going to be awful to have to kill a kid but she would do it, she'd do just about anything to survive.

The tiniest whimper filled the air followed by long arms and big brown eyes, a messy tangled mop of sandy blonde hair and ripped capris stumbling out from behind the twisted oak tree.

"Please don't kill me.. I... I heard you singing and I just wanted to see.. I wanted to listen...I don't know where I am. I've been runnin' for days." She whispered, sloppy raindrop sized tears cascading down her dirty cheeks leaving streaks of muddy brown on her smooth skin.

She was little, no way she was older than 10 maybe 11 and she was a mess, Her knees bloody and cut up and her face far too skinny. She looked haunted and terrified and something about the way she was shaking in her sneakers had Ellie instantly bending down and brushing the back of her hand against the little ones cheeks, wiping away the never ending tears.

"Hey.. hey I won't hurt you. My names Ellie, what about you?" She stuck her hand out to shake and smiled the best she could, she was never good around other people, kids seemed to like her just fine but still...

The little girl hesitated for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip before taking Ellie's hand in her own

"S..Sophia. I'm ten." She whispered.

"Sophia..." Ellie wracked her brain for a moment before looking down at the ten year old with soft eyes and an encouraging smile "Wisdom. Your name is Greek, It stands for Wisdom and skill. It's a great name to have."

Finally the tears started to subside, sophia looked up at Ellie with wide eyes.. clearly intrigued by the new discovery of her name.

"Really?" She whispered again. At least she wasn't too loud, her quiet would come in handy out here.

"Sure does. Now what's a little thing like you doin' out here all on your own? You got a mama lookin' for you somewhere."

Sophia shook her head aggressively

"Yes! I got lost a couple of days ago. There was

walkers, a lot of them and I got separated from my mom and Rick told me to stay but I didn't and then I just got lost and now I don't know how to get back and I know my mom is looking for me but I don't know where... there were lots of cars and road.." She rambled desperately.

Ellie placed a hand on the frantic little girls shoulder and squeezed reassuringly

"I'll help you find your mama. Can't be too far if you only got lost a few days ago, we'll find her. Find your whole group and help them get their Wisdom back. Lord knows they're all probably goin' crazy without it."

Sophia whipped around, tiny hand gripping the hem of Ellie's jacket and tugging

"You'd do that? You'd help me find my mom?"

She sounded almost amazed, it made Ellie sad to see a child so young so jaded, looked an awful lot like herself.

"Course I will sugar, can't have your mama turning over the world to find ya. I like my world right side up." She tweaked Sophia's nose and nearly shivered when the little girl laced her fingers with hers and beamed up at the older woman beside her. How long had it been since she'd had anyone come close to touching her? To even being this close to her body? Human Contact.. it was a strange and foreign thing to Ellie even before the world turned to shit.

From that point on the two girls had been inseparable, Sophia stuck to Ellie's side like glue and Ellie made sure she was always just a few feet away from Sophia at all times, their was no way she was delivering this kid home to her mother in a body bag. They'd come across a herd just a few days ago and Sophia had nearly passed out when she'd witnessed Ellie take down nearly 20 walkers with nothing but her knives, this had resulted in about an hour of the 10 year old asking her all kinds of questions about what kind of life she lived before this one.

That was definitely not a story for a child.

They were about two weeks into the hunt for Sophia's group when they'd stopped at an abandoned factory to scavenge for something edible, Ellie had given the child most of her canned goods just to build her strength up but with all the walking they were doing, being as weak and tired as she was wasn't good for staying alert.

"Gotta be somethin' in here. Anythin' really. I'll eat dog food if I have too." Ellie wiggled her eyebrows at Sophia and smiled tiredly when she scrunched her nose up in disgust and giggled.

"You will not! You'll get sick if you... mmmph!" Ellie cut off the blonde little girl by smacking a hand to her mouth and tugging her behind the nearest wall she could find. Sophia mumbled something g beneath her fingers and Ellie quickly shushed her, eyes peering over the side of the wall at the back of large shadowy figure.

"We got company sugar. Stay put and stay quiet. If someone comes at you I want you to scream as loud as humanly possible and run as far as you can get... here." Ellie shoved a small hunting knife into Sophia's open palm and wrapped her tiny fingers around the handle "you do what you have to do ya understand?"

Sophia looked up at her with watery eyes and nodded slightly

"Don't die." She whispered desperately.

Ellie felt herself wince, this was part of the reason she liked to be on her own.. she didn't want to lie to anyone and she didn't want to break promises that were inevitably built to fail. So she bent down, pressed a kiss to Sophia's forehead and advanced on the man who currently digging through an empty desk drawer.

"I won't ever stab a man in the back unless he deserves it so do me a favor and turn around nice and slow."

Ellie kept her voice calm and collected as the man in front of her stiffened, his hooked hand contraption raising up in surrender as he turned to face her with a annoyingly cocky smirk, the second his eyes landed on her the smirk grew wider.

"Well well Well... if you ain't the prettiest knife wielding, light footed angel I've ever seen." He drawled, his accent thick just like hers.. he must have been born close to Senoia.

"I'm no angel, I reckon you walk out that door right now and leave and I won't send this knife flying right through that bald skull of yours." She threatened, the venom in her voice further proving just how dangerous she was.

"Ain't lookin' for trouble sweetheart, lookin' for food. Same as you, ya ain't nothin but bones." His eyes scanned her figure blatantly and she didn't stop herself from rolling her eyes this time.

"Well since you're so smart I'm sure you've already figured out that I ain't in the mood to share. So do yourself a favor and walk out of here with one good arm in tact." She took a step forward and the man stepped back, his eyes dropping and his shoulders slumping, he did look awfully hungry and she hadn't expected him to surrender to her so quickly.

"Alright girl.. fine.. this one's all yours. Ain't gonna find anythi.."

"Mr. Merle!"

Suddenly Sophia was darting out from behind the back wall, her skinny legs sending her flying directly into the bald man's body, her arms wrapping around his waist as he stared down at her in shock.

"Sophia?! What the hell are you doing! Get over here!" Ellie whisper screamed, eyes wide and stunned at the carelessness of the little girl she had come to understand.

"Sophia?" The man stepped back, pulling away and holding the young girl by her shoulders "Well I'll be damned." He chuckled ruffling her hair and scanning her quickly for any injuries. Ellie watched as Sophia grinned up at the man and reached for his missing hand carefully.

"I'm sorry I feel like I'm missing something." She dropped the knife she was holding back into the holster on her thigh and raised a brow at Sophia expectantly

"This is Mr. Merle. He lived with us for a long time.. his brother is Daryl, the one who brings us the squirrels!" Sophia smiled excitedly before it turned to confusion as she looked back at Merle "my mom said you died. Said you were too stupid and died."

"Rude." Merle mumbled, his eyes sparkling when he looked back to Ellie. "You know who I am now girly, who the hell are you and why do you have Carols kid?"

Ellie opened her mouth to speak before Sophia cut her off

"Ellie's helping me find my way home. She's been keeping me safe and killing all the walkers and giving me all her food and making sure I get the warmest sleeping spot!" Sophia grinned moving back to take Ellie's hand and curl against her side.

"Oh yeah?" Merle questioned "and what's in it for "Ellie"" He drew out her name and she had to do everything in her power to not haul back and break his already crooked nose.

"Nothing, I'm not looking for a reward. I don't have anything better to do so I'm bringing her home. Beats walking around and trying not to become some zombies dinner." She explained, a genuine smile crossing her face when Merle laughed out loud.

"Got a point girly. Well how'd you like to add a new member to your rescue mission? I'll go with ya, need to find my brother anyway. Fresh eyes never hurt nobody." He hiked his bag over his shoulder and headed towards the door, Sophia hung back with Ellie waiting to see her next move.

Obviously she was going to let him come, his brother was out there too probably looking for him. But it wouldn't hurt to let the cocky man in front of her think she was still deciding. Merle made it to the front door and turned around, Ellie could tell he was nervous of the rejection by the way his good hand wrapped tight around the edge of the door.

"You comin or not?" He pressed grumpily.

After another few seconds Ellie finally let the megawatt smile light up her face as she grabbed Sophia's hand and tugged her past Merle practically skipping as they swung out the doors

It was quiet for a while, they all walked in silence, caught up in their own thoughts before Sophia broke the quiet.

"The three musketeers! That's what we are! The three musketeers." She glanced back and forth between them, her smile wide and proud.

Ellie sughed dramatically and flicked Sophia's nose

"Don't mention that name.. I would kill for a three musketeers right now.. or maybe a snickers bar." She sighed.

It was just a few seconds later when Merle dropped a heavy metal can in her palms, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

"It ain't chocolate but it'll get that stomach a yours filled." He grinned, walking a bit ahead as she flipped the can around to read the label

"Beef and Gravy Dog Food."

Ellies head snapped up to his shaking shoulders as he silently cracked up in front of her.

"Son of a ..."

[erikamariapell]

Redeeming Love

“Am I supposed to find you scary? Am I supposed to blush and shiver and fight back tears? If you want to scare me you’re going to have to try a lot harder than that” honey eyes and dimpled cheeks stared back at him, defiance written all over her features in stone.

His eyes roamed her body, layer and layer of fabric wrapped up under her boned corset. Long auburn curls reaching midway down her back tied halfway with a satin ribbon. Her skin was milk and cream and he could count the freckles dotting her collarbone. She was golden, walking the town with escorts and the finest clothes.

She was a prostitute, that much was known but she was also an asset. People came from far and wide to spend time in her company and the price it cost wasn’t for the faint of heart. She worked under the countess and Fez had known her to be a kind but greedy woman, he wasn’t one to shop for a bed mate but she’d bought many a product from him. He knew she distributed it to her clients for much higher than he charged and he couldn’t help but respect her business skills. It was a shame she ran a brothel, she could have been a reputable business owner.

He was selling today, a new product Ash had cooked up to give gold miners more energy to keep them up while they sifted for hours on end. Apparently the product also did a wonderful job keeping more than the miners up. That’s how he came to meet Miss Lexi Howard, he’d seen her from a far, watched the bidding wars out his carriage window but had never been close enough to truly admire the beauty that she was.

She was perched along the staircase, head resting carelessly on the railing, long hair cascading over the edge. She had a teasing look in her eyes as she spoke to Ash, his younger brother had snapped at her and told her to mind her business, tacking on a very tasteful “money whore” at the end. She’d told him she wasn’t afraid and her gaze had fallen right on Fez as she spoke. She looked the farthest thing from afraid, tired and restless definitely but not afraid.

The Countess walked in then, stroking Lexis hair with adoration he hadn’t expected to see.

“Lexi darling, is there something I can help you with? We are doing business.”

The younger girl sighed, strutting towards the table.

“My date fell asleep, I can’t get him out of the bed.”

She dropped down in the seat beside Fez and grinned.

“I’m Lexi.” She offered a slender hand. He took it cautiously and shook gently.

“Fezco, honor to meet you mam.” He ignored Ash scoffing across the room.

“Fezco.” She repeated, trying the name out on her tongue “I like that’s. That’s a nice name.” She beamed, he could see the youth in her eyes, marred by pain and resentment but still present.

[erikamariapell]

“Fuck me.” He mumbled under his breath, tissues and pacifiers flying from the diaper bag he was currently elbows deep in.

“Bad word.” The green eyed two year old sniffled from her place sprawled out on the wood chips of the parks play area. Her tiny knee bent and red, one barely there trickle of blood spilling from a scrape covered in dirt.

Fezco glanced down at his puffy faced toddler, her eyes glistening with tears and her lips pouting dangerously close to a quiver. His heart practically broke in fucking half.

“I’m sorry baby, daddy can’t find the antiseptic spray and I can’t just put a bandaid on there, not with all the germs in this cesspool.” He reached over to smooth her strawberry blonde curls, and tweaked her nose. “I swear to god I packed it.” He mumbled again.

It wasn’t thirty seconds later when a feminine hand with red painted nails slid a slightly used spray bottle of antiseptic under his nose. He whipped towards the connecting body and fell out of his squat and flat on his ass.

She was gorgeous, long auburn hair pulled into a messy bun and wide doe eyes. She had a baby boy in one arm, hanging onto her with a curious smile.

“I’m sorry to be intrusive but I couldn’t help but overhear. I lose this stuff all the time, I have about eight bottles in my bag now for this exact reason.” She smiled softly, before turning to his daughter “I have to tell you, you’re being incredibly brave. I’m not nearly as brave when I scrape my knee.” She pulled a wet wipe out of her bag and held it out, glancing between the father daughter duo “do you mind?”

He shook his head, looking like a mute fucking idiot, unable to say a damn word in her presence.

Lexi reached down and swiped the dirt off of his daughters knee, balancing her own child on one hip and squatting. “I know it stings? Does it hurt awfully?” She directed at the little one.

His perfect angel of a daughter shook her head stubbornly and wiped her nose on her sleeve

“Nuh uh.” She whispered.

That’s not what she’d been saying three minutes again when she was wailing loud enough for China to hear. Fez reached down and sprayed her swollen knee, wincing when she did before placing a pink bandaid on top. She bounced up and stretched, pleased with the glittery bandaid she was wearing, she went to run off and he grabbed her arm.

“What do we say kid? You know better than that, come on.” He fixed her with a stern look and she quickly turned to the older woman

“Thankyou.” She grinned before running off. Fez shook his head before turning himself towards the gorgeous angel who’d just saved the day.

She smiled sweetly “well she’s a real angel, isn’t she?” The baby in her arms giggled and fex just wanted to reach out and squeeze his chubby arms, he missed when Della was that small.

“She has her moments. Seriously though, Thank you for that. I swear I had it when I left the damn house.” He looked over to his destroyed diaper bag.

She laughed, bright and clear, her hands coming up to rub her babies back. No wedding ring. Nice.

“I’ve been there! It’s diaper bag goblins.” She extended a hand “I’m Lexi and this is Bear. We’re knew to the whole park thing, he just turned 9 months and I figured we give it try.” She smiled at her son who was grinning at him. “He’s very friendly.” She laughed.

Fez laughed right back “I can see that. What’s up little dude.” He popped his nose and the baby giggled and crunched up adorably. “I’m Fezco and that’s Della she’s a little over two and she’s fearless, she loves the park.” He said with pride.

Lexi nodded. “You’ll have your hands full when she’s older, she is beyond beautiful.”

That was certainly the truth. His daughter was a G, and the thought of dealing with boys in the future made him shudder.”

“Well we’re headed home, it was nice meeting you and we’ll definitely be seeing you around!” She twisted Bear in her arms and Fez practically melted at the little boy waving carelessly, nearly smacking his mom in the face.

“Nice meeting you too, Lexi.”

He would most definitely be seeing her around the park.

[erikamariapell]

Her skin is porcelain ice, he imagines it being cool to the touch underneath his fingertips. Just a sliver of creamy skin exposed by the way her arms lift up to pull Rue off the dining room table, her pretty blouse raising just enough to spare him a glance.

She has on that frustrated, eye brows furrowed, look she only ever seems to get around Rue and her sister Cassie. When she whips towards him, her arms dropping to her sides and a not so subtle nod at their crazy friend, doped up and dancing dangerously close to the edge of someone’s mother’s antique dining set, he likes the way she calls to him with no words.

When he pulls Rue off the table and over his shoulder he knows he should be focused on her screams of protest but all he can feel is Lexis hand on the small of his back, guiding him through the overcrowded house party. Her fingers flex and fold into the cotton of his shirt and he can hear her whispering to Rue. He’s never had a mom or a dad but he can’t help but paint the picture of Lexi and himself married with their rowdy child misbehaving.

He dumps the curly haired mess into his backseat of his Cadillac and stays close while she fights Lexi for the seatbelt. By the time the door is pulled shut and child locked her auburn ponytail is askew and her cheeks are flushed rose petal pink, he brushes his fingers over her warm skin and when her eyes look up at him they’re tired but just as bright as he knows them to be. Vaguely he can hear Rue screaming from the confined space but when Lexi drops her head to his chest, fully exhausted with her arms limp at her sides, he can’t hear anything but her soft sigh against his heart.

He tangles his fingers at the back of her scalp and presses her closer, boldly dropping his lips to the crown of her head and selfishly inhaling her peach shampoo. They stay like that for a minute more than necessary and when she pulls away he feels cold and his head hurts.

Rue passes out in his backseat no more than five minutes after they start to drive. The silence that follows is peaceful and when Lexi grabs his hand on the gear shift he imagines a car seat in the back and a diaper bag at her feet.

[erikamariapell]

“You look at me like I’m glass, like you’re afraid to shatter me.” She whispered, fingers rubbing at the frayed holes in his jeans. Dangerously close to touching his skin underneath the heavy denim.

The party playing like a movie somewhere off screen, not two feet away from the cigarette stained couch they were currently occupying.

“Nah. You ain’t glass.” His voice sounded foreign, like it was a million miles away from his own ears.

She slowly pulled her heavy lidded eyes to his. Deep, dark chocolate clashing with clear, ocean blue. His gaze followed her perfectly straight teeth as they pulled a swollen, red lined lip between them.

“No fezco, I’m not glass.”

He couldn’t keep his eyes off her fingers, now splayed against the thick knit of his sweater. Her breath was warm against his cheek, cherry vodka and toothpaste.

It was the sweetest high he’d ever had.