ARIA STARES DOWN at the water, her mouth seemingly becoming more dry. She's tempted to drink it but then again, it could have poison in it. She really hopes it's from a good person and not someone who is evil enough to try to poison the water. Daryl walks out of the woods, the couple making brief eye contact, which Aria quickly breaks. The group had seen her red eyes and face but chose to ignore it because they knew Aria wouldn't tell them, at least not all of them.

Rick hands Daryl the note and Aria looks over towards Carol before looking at Michonne. They're the two people she is closest with and they've never done anything to hurt her. It's funny how you can get close to people despite the nasty problems in the world. "If that's a trap — we already happen to be in it. But I, for one, would like to think it is indeed from a friend." Eugene speaks up, hoping for the best. The group wants to drink the water that's teasing them but they don't want to risk the possibility of poison being in it. "What if it isn't? They put something in it?"

Aria looks around and for a brief second, she swears she sees something but shakes it off, blaming it on dehydration and the lack of sleep. Eugene steps forward, leaning down to grab one of the water bottles and Aria's eyebrows fly up in alarm. "What are you doing, dude?" Tara asks, confusion covering her face. Eugene begins to unscrew the cap as he looks around. "Quality assurance." He utters before tilting his head back. Before the water can make it to his mouth, Abraham steps forward, slapping the water bottle out of his hand, water flying all over Eugene's face.

Abraham sends him a pointed look before stepping back beside Michonne, his arms crossing over his chest. "We can't." Rick whispers, killing the little ounce of hope that was left in the group. Just as Aria turns around to begin walking off, thunder rumbles from the sky, halting her in her tracks. Drops of rain begins pouring down onto her face and she lowers her eyes down to the ground. She's always loved rain and any type of storm because she found it peaceful. When she wasn't in the woods, she was staring out of the window, watching the drops of rain drip down the glass—it soothed her.

Her sisters hated the rain and they would always complain about how Aria would run outside and jump in the mud puddles then run back inside and drag them out — pleading with them to dance in the rain with her. But they wouldn't, they were always afraid that someone they know may see them dancing in the rain with their freak of a sister. Aria; she didn't care, she didn't want to stop being in the rain. That was until she got older and started worrying about what people would think about her.

Carol and Michonne wrap their arms around Aria in delight as laughter comes from their mouths. Not wanting to down their spirits, Aria plasters a fake smile on her face as rain runs down her face, soaking her clothes. Drops of rain cover her blonde eyelashes as she gazes up at the sky, her eyes studying the dark gray clouds. She recognizes the clouds; cumulonimbus clouds. They always come out when there is going to be severe weather. Thunder booms loudly and Aria nibbles on her bottom lip, worry crossing her face.

It's about to storm severely and they have nowhere to go. Mumbling a few choice of words under her breath, Aria taps Michonne's shoulder. "We need to get going. It's about to storm — badly." Aria whispers and Michonne's eyes widen. Nodding, Michonne rushes up to Rick, repeating what Aria said to him. "Let's keep moving!" Rick shouts over the thunder, looking around at the soaking wet group. "There's a barn."

"Where?"

♚ ♛

Aria leans back against the wood walls, shoving her knife into the ground to cure her boredom. The only thing lighting up the dark barn is the little fire the group was able to make. "I'll try." Glenn utters, grabbing a stick from the pile. "No. Too wet." Daryl gruffly answers and Aria continues to stare down at the dirt, no emotion on her face.

With her legs cross over Michonne's and her back against the wall, Aria cranes her neck, trying to look behind her to see Carol. "You're going to break your neck trying to look at me." Pouting slightly, Aria leans her head back against the wall, shoving her knife back in its holster. As silence consumes the barn, Aria finds herself looking over towards Daryl. She can't help it, he's right across from her. She's not sure if they're still dating or what, she threw the rock down at his feet but — she still loves him. She can't stop loving him that quick and if they are broken up, their friendship is probably not going to be the same.

"I used to feel sorry for kids that have to grow up now — in this. But I think I got it wrong. Growing up is getting used to the world. This is easier for them." Rick speaks up and Aria frowns. Does she want a family in this world? She's not sure because in a heartbeat, she can lose them and she don't know if she'll be able to deal with that. "This isn't the world. This isn't it." Michonne corrects him. Aria completely agrees with Michonne; this isn't the world. This is hell on Earth and it sucks.

"It might be, it might." Aria shakes her head along with Michonne. "This isn't the world. This is hell and we're living in it." Aria whispers causing Daryl to raise his eyes and meets hers. Clenching her jaw, Aria lowers her eyes down to his torso, her fingers fiddling with each other. "That's giving up." Glenn sighs lowly, his head shaking. "It's reality."

"Until we see otherwise, this is what we have to live with." They have to live regrets, grief, guilt. They have to live with all those things that suffocate from the inside. "When I was a kid — i asked my grandpa once if he ever killed any Germans in the war. He wouldn't answer. He said that was grown-up stuff, so — so I asked if the Germans ever tried to kill him. But he got real quiet. He said he was dead the minute he stepped into enemy territory. Everyday he woke up and told himself, "Rest in peace. Now get up and go to war." And then after a few years of pretending he was dead — he made it out alive. And hats the trick of it, I think. We do what we need to do and then we get to live. But no matter what we find in DC, I know we'll be okay. Because this is how we survive. We tell ourselves — that we are the walking dead."

Chills; that's all Aria felt. She had chills running down her spine and racing up her arms. That was a beautiful story he had just told and Aria is in love with the words. Glancing over at Carol and Michonne, Aria reaches down, grabbing both of their hands and squeezing them tight. "We ain't them." Daryl grunts and Aria squints her eyes slightly, studying Daryl's movements. Everytime he speaks, her heart races and she hates it because it reminds her that she's still living and that she's in love.

♚ ♛

Aria and Daryl are now the only two awake because they have to stand guard. Despite being across the room, they find themselves looking over at each other because they're worried. Daryl groans to himself before climbing to his feet and walking over towards Aria, plopping down in front of her. "Talk to me?" Daryl asks and Aria draws in a deep breath, her eyes meeting his.

"What you said hurt, Daryl — it was salt to the wound. I never done it for attention, I done it because I was hurting and I didn't know how to cope with shit. I usually don't take your words to heart, but you brought up my past. I would never do that to you. I — I don't know if this is going to work." She's been thinking of this all day and she wants to make it work, but she can't by herself. She isn't going to be in a relationship where only one person is trying.

"I'm sorry about earlier. We can make it work." Aria rubs her eyes, her mind spinning. She understands that's how Daryl's personality is. She does irrational things too when she's upset, she can't be too mad at him. Moving forward, Aria wraps her arms around him, her head lying on his shoulder. His arms move from around his side to her waist and she squeezes him tightly, planting a small kiss on his jawline.

"You're going through a lot right now and it's my job to make sure you're okay. Don't fight that. I'll never judge you for crying or anything, Daryl. You can always count on me. I love you, Dixon."

A U T H O R
i've been writing chapters and like.. i honestly can't wait until aria meets negan.. just saying. *smirky face*