CHAPTER TWENTY

It was after dark as Andie walked back into C block, listening to the chatter of people who hadn't gone to bed just yet. It had been six months since the fight with Woodbury, and she still wasn't quite used to there being more than just those she ended up with after the fire on the farm.

They'd taken in a lot of new people, given them refuge, and their once dwindling group had grown immensely.  There were a lot of new faces and she'd even managed to make a few friends, but she refused to get too close to too many people. It all felt like it could get ripped away at any moment, and that thought terrified her more than she'd admit.

The brunette stopped on the perch as Daryl came out of his cell, still the one right next to hers. His footsteps halted when he saw her, and she offered him a small smile.

"You're up late." She said, and he nodded.

"I wait until everyone's in bed to go out to the showers." He told her, and she nodded.

"Yeah, that's a sound plan." The brunette held up her towel; she always did the same thing. "It was empty when I left."

"Good." He started past her, and she sighed as she stepped out of his way.

Despite her being there for him after Andrea died, things between them never really got resolved. Neither was good at expressing the way they felt, so the proper apologies didn't happen when they should've. Eventually, so much time past that it felt like too much time.

"Goodnight, Daryl." Andie mumbled as she walked into her cell, closing the curtain behind her, and he stopped halfway down the stairs.

There was a part of him that wanted to go back up, ask to talk to her. He wanted to explain all the things he should've said the day that she told him why she was so upset. But he couldn't bring himself to do it.

So, things carried on as usual.

Andie was up early the next morning, as per usual, and she jumped when she walked out of her cell to find someone coming up to her. He smiled awkwardly as he took a step back.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Carter said, and she shook her head.

"You're good." She told him.

There was a small part of her that was annoyed with herself because he was even able to startle her, but she made a choice a long time ago to try and push back her werewolf abilities as much as possible. She hadn't needed them to survive before that day with the Governor, and she didn't want to rely on them as time went on.

So, she tried not to use her heightened senses if they weren't on a run — that was the only exception she made, for the safety of her group. And she had Theo teach her what Brett had taught him in order to hide her scent from others like them that they could come across.

"I have a question I want to ask you." Carter said, and she took a deep breath, assuming she knew what it was.

"Ask away."

"I was thinking we could do something tonight — just the two of us." He told her. "Maybe... I don't know, sit outside and talk, under the stars. It could be kind of...romantic."

"We've already had this conversation, Carter." She shook her head. "And now I have to go help with breakfast."

"You never really explained." He argued. "Not really."

"And I don't have time right now." The brunette told him as she went down the back set of stairs.

Andie turned to walk toward the common area, but her footsteps faltered when she saw him drop from the perch in front of her. Carter looked down at the brunette, hanging onto the landing as his body dangled by the steps.

"What are you doing?" She questioned.

"I'm...being romantic."

"What?"

"Grand gesture."

Andie was standing there looking up at him with a furrowed brow when Daryl walked in from the common area and saw what was going on with the younger two. He stopped to watch them as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"How exactly is this supposed to be a grand gesture?" Andie asked, and her new friend Zoe chuckled from where she was leaning against the wall just outside her own cell.

"Aw, it's The Notebook."

"The what?"

"Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams." Zoe explained. "The Ferris Wheel scene."

"I... I don't think I ever watched a Ryan Gosling movie."

"You what?"

"I'm not dropping from the perch until you agree to go on a date with me." Carter said, and they both looked up at him again.

"Is this supposed to be cute?" Andie questioned.

"It worked for him."

"Scripted? In a chick-flick?" She shook her head. "Get down, Carter."

"Not until you agree." He groaned, adjusting his hands as best he could.

"I fail to see how this is cute or charming...or whatever you're going for." Andie told him. "It's extortion...and mildly embarrassing." She looked around at all of the people coming out of their cells, then her dark eyes landed on Daryl.

"She pulled his pants down in the movie." Zoe told her.

"What?"

"They were on a Ferris Wheel." Beth explained, standing in the doorway to her own cell. "Noah was hanging from high up, and he was threatening to let go unless she said yes."

"That's not romantic, that's stupid." Andie shook her head. "And I'm not stuck on a carnival ride." She walked past him, leaving the cell block as she refused to look at Daryl again.

Carter dropped to his feet, and everyone started to go about their business. Daryl headed back up to his cell like he was intending when he walked in a minute before.

"On a scale of one to ten, how stupid was that?" The brunette boy asked as he looked at the two teenage girls.

"Eleven." Zoe told him.

"Twenty." Beth refuted. "Even if Andie understood what you were going for — and I don't know why you would think she's seen The Notebook — she keeps her business to herself. Nothing sounds less like Andie than a grand, public gesture."

—

There were quite a few people greeting Daryl as he made his way to the cook like where Carol and Andie were making breakfast for everyone. They had help from one of the newcomers — a kid who was eager to learn...and had a bit of a crush on Andie.

"Smells good." He told the girls, trying to ignore the people around them.

"Just so you know, she liked you first." Carol motioned to Andie as the younger girl shouted to Zoe, telling her to come over.

"Stop." Daryl muttered, trying not to look at the brunette who was totally oblivious to both the comment and his presence. "You know, Rick and Andie brought in a lot of them too."

"And plenty like her." She glanced over her shoulder as Carter made his way toward the girls.

"I noticed."

"Give the stranger sanctuary, keeping people fed, you're gonna have to learn to live with the love." Carol said as Andie walked away from her friends, heading past Patrick to give Stilinski some food.

"Right." He begrudgingly agreed.

"I need you to see something." She told him. "Patrick, you wanna take over?"

"Yes, ma'am." The teenage boy agreed, always ready and willing to help. "Uh, Mr. Dixon, I just wanted to thank you for bringing that deer back yesterday. It was a real treat, sir. And I'd be honored to shake your hand." He said, and Daryl licked the food off of his fingers before doing just that.

"Andie!" Carol called, and the younger girl turned.

"Yeah, Mama?"

"Come with us, bring your friends."

Andie looked over at Zoe and Carter as she whistled. "Come on!" She said, and Daryl's jaw tightened when he saw Carter walking their way. "What's going on?"

"It's about today." Carol said as they started walking across the courtyard. "I don't know if we're gonna be able to spare a lot of people for the run."

"That place is good to go. We're gonna move on it." Daryl told her.

"Yeah... The thing is, we had a pretty big build-up overnight."

"Holy shit." Carter muttered as he looked at the walkers lining the fence. They had people out there stabbing them in the head through the chain-link.

"Dozens more toward tower three. It's getting as bad as last month."

"Doesn't look like they spread out the way they used to." Andie said, and she shook her head.

"With more of us in here, we're drawing more of them out." Daryl said. "You get enough of those damn fence-clingers, they start to herd up."

"Pushing against the fences again." Carol nodded. "It's manageable, but unless we get ahead of it, not for long."

"Well, Carter was just about to head out there and help his mom, weren't you?" Andie reached up and patted his bicep.

"Oh, uh... Yeah, I can do that." He nodded as he looked down at her. "I thought you wanted me to come on the run with you guys."

"Naw, that's alright. I'll drag Theo out of Angela's cell." She told him. "Better hurry. Don't wanna keep Mama Hart waitin' too long."

"Right."

Zoe chuckled as he walked away from them. "Can you say love-sick idiot?"

"Can you say get a clue?" Andie shook her head. "Come on, let's get ready to head out. And I have to actually drag Theo out of that poor girl's cell."

"Can you explain the whole Carter-thing to me again?" She asked as they started to walk away from the other two. "I know you like him. Or, there is something with you two."

"Sorry, Pookie." Carol said as she looked up at Daryl, and his gaze dropped to the ground.

"Kid's her age." He shrugged. "She should spend her time around more people like that."

"Or, you know, you could stop avoiding her." She told him, and he glanced at her before turning around and walking away.