Long author's note at the end of this chapter.

…

One.

She preferred playing in the smaller clubs even though she could easily fill arenas, as her agent, Eric, liked to constantly remind her.

There was more money in playing the bigger venues and more money meant more money for all of them, but Beth Greene was one of those rare figures with fame tacked to their name that did not truly care about the money. Yes, money had certainly made things easier. Money had made it possible for her to live this life, fulfilling her true passion, but money wasn't the end all, be all to her. Her parents had raised her better than that – as she liked to constantly remind Eric.

Beth liked the clubs because they felt more intimate to her. She could truly see the faces of those who had come to see her – cheering and singing along to her songs, knowing every word that she had written. She had gotten her start in clubs. She had been discovered in one. She had a loyalty to them. And thankfully, she had a manager who understood that even if she had an agent who didn't.

The only problem with playing the smaller spaces was that refusing encores was hard. They had all paid to see her and Beth hated the idea of letting any of her fans down. But her show was supposed to be over at nine, and at five minutes past ten, she was doing her fifth encore. The audience was still cheering and singing along and chanting for yet another encore, not wanting the show to end. Beth's voice was beginning to waiver and her throat was beginning to ache and from the corner of her eye, she could see Aaron off in the darkness, in the wing of the stage, and he was shaking his head. She gave him the slightest of nods before looking back to the crowd, her smile ever present and genuine.

She strummed the last chord on her guitar and then laughed a little into the microphone. "I'm sorry, everyone!" Beth said and sure enough, some boos rose up from the crowd, already knowing what she was going to say. "I have to go or I'm going to lose my voice! Thank you so much for coming out tonight. I love you all and drive home safe! Good night!"

And with one more beaming smile and bow, she unplugged her guitar from the amp and headed off the stage, disappearing into the wing, behind the curtain, and she breathed with relief once she was out of sight. The crowd was still cheering for her and Aaron handed her a fresh bottle of water, one she took a greedy chug from.

"I really have to pee," she said and Aaron smiled widely at that.

"Bathroom and then we have one interview tonight," Aaron said with a gentle hand on her back as he led her to the small backstage room that was hers for the night. "You were great tonight, Beth," he then told her.

"Just great?" Beth teased him with a laughing smile as she hurried through the dressing room and into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

There was a shower in there and Beth was nearly tempted to hop in. The tight jeans and tee-shirt she wore were both sticking to her with sweat, but honestly, she'd rather go back to the hotel where she could take a bubble bath and then slip into her flannel pajamas. As she relieved herself and then washed her hands and splashed water onto her face, Beth felt the exhaustion begin to hit her. Thankfully, she only had one interview to do tonight and hopefully, it wouldn't be one that would take long. She didn't mind giving interviews – it was part of her job – but sometimes, she just wanted to be sleeping instead.

When she came out of the bathroom, Aaron was sitting on the sofa against the wall, scrolling through his phone. Beth went to the mirror and pulled out the rubber band that was holding her hair up, and shook the locks out so they fell around her face. She had recently cut her long locks to almost her shoulders and some of her fans were not happy with the look. Others loved it. Her critics said that it made her look older. Beth didn't see the bad thing about that. She was almost thirty.

Every venue she went to, the owners wanted to know her "demands" for the dressing room and they never believed her when she just had a list of three things. They were used to others wanting so many other things. Fresh salmon imported from Alaska. M&Ms separated into different bowls according to colors. But not Beth. Pears – her favorite, for before the show – bottles of water and cups of Jell-o for after the show. Beth went to the mini fridge now to get another bottle of water and the cup of cherry Jell-o and spoon left for her.

She plopped down next to Aaron. "Give it to me," she said, tucking her legs up underneath her as she peeled the lid back from the gelatin cup.

"Interview tonight with a local music blogger. Then back to the hotel. Tomorrow, the morning is yours until eleven when we have a photo shoot set up for you, trying some jewelry on by a local designer who's on the rise and then we head up to Montgomery where you have a late lunch with the winner of the radio contest. Then we hop on the bus and your next show is tomorrow at seven. Full day."

Beth nodded, letting the gelatin slide down her sore throat. "Sounds good," she said because that was what she always said.

She wished she had more free mornings, or afternoons, or days, but this was her job. She loved writing her own songs and playing her guitar and she knew how lucky she was to be able to do this for a living and making a good living at it.

Her debut album had sold more copies than she had ever imagined it would and after that, she woke up one morning and found herself to be a star. She was in magazines and people wanted interviews with her and she performed shows with people shouting for her and singing along with her songs and on top of all of that, suddenly, paparazzi were showing up and snapping pictures of her.

Her sister, Maggie, and brother, Shawn, loved it. The three had been at the Whole Foods in Atlanta and when they had come out, a photographer had been out there, snapping pictures of them crossing the parking lot. Shawn and Maggie had beamed at the camera, but Beth had nearly broken out into a run with the shopping cart. She hadn't understood why anyone would want her picture – especially in her leggings and oversized sweatshirt – and she still didn't understand it. It was probably the most surreal part of this whole experience that had suddenly become her life.

An almost timid knock came on the closed dressing room door and Aaron stood up to go and answer it. Beth remained sitting on the couch, finishing her Jell-O cup.

The journalist was a young guy. A hipster with his hair combed back and buzzed on the sides, glasses on his face and Beth wondered if he actually needed them, and jeans nearly as tight as her own. She had lost count of how many people she did interviews with who looked just like this man. Nonetheless, she stood up and gave him her warmest smile.

"Hello," Beth said, sticking out her hand. "I'm Beth."

The journalist let out a huff of laughter from between his lips. "Yes, I know. I'm Dan for Poppin' Pop Music."

"Nice to meet you. Would you like some water? Jell-O?" She asked.

"I'm alright, thank you."

Beth sat back down on the couch and Dan sat down on the other end. Aaron had remained in the room and sat down in the chair at the mirror, back on his phone, but Beth knew that he would be listening to every word of this interview. That was why she loved Aaron and was so glad this man had been the one in the club that night, hearing her sing during the amateur open-mic night. Technically, they had only known one another for a year and yet, already, few people knew her as well as Aaron. And while he knew that she could handle these interviews, he also knew that she didn't necessarily like to be on her own during one.

"It was such a great show tonight," Dan began.

"Thank you," Beth smiled graciously, genuinely. "Went on a bit longer than planned. Hence, the Jell-O." She held up another cup and Dan smiled again.

"Do you mind when shows go longer than scheduled?" He asked.

"Not at all," she shook her head. "I would live on stage, if I could. I still can't get over that feeling of having people, wanting to see me, and when they sing along to my songs, it's all so incredibly euphoric. It's my throat that eventually makes me stop."

Dan took a moment to jot down notes to himself in the small notebook in his hand.

He then lifted his eyes back to her and gave her a small smile. "I was hoping I could speak with you about the recent rumor that has been going around about you just in the past few days."

Beth felt her entire body stiffen within a split second. Of course. Who didn't want to talk about that? Thankfully, Aaron and Eric both had managed to keep the piranhas away from her, all snapping her pictures and shouting out questions to her – "Beth, is it true?" – and Beth knew that people loved a good scandal. People loved to watch people fall as much as they loved to watch them rise. And Beth, as music's good-girl sweetheart, if this rumor did turn out to be true, it would be scandalous and delicious for everyone except her.

Her fingers were tightening around her spoon. "I have no comment on that."

Dan lifted an eyebrow at that. "You don't? Not even a general broad statement?"

"No," she shook her head, doing her best to keep her voice steady and calm. "My ex-boyfriend didn't like the breakup and this is his way of reacting to that. I don't have a statement to make against a blatant lie and I will allow people to believe whatever they choose to believe. Those who know me know the truth."

"And you don't think your fans deserve to know the truth?" Dan continued to press.

"If my fans choose to believe something they read about me in a tabloid and stop listening to my music as a result, they were never my fans in the first place and there is no point in trying to please those who just come and go," she said with a shrug and added a tight, polite smile for good measure.

She cast a glance towards Aaron then, not sure if her answer was the right one. He had put his phone down and was watching – specifically Dan – closely.

Eric had given her interview training before her first one all of those months ago. There was an art to it that Beth didn't know if she still had a grasp on, to be honest. It was all about making her mind take its time and formulate the answers. Most times, people just blurted things out – like most people tended to do – and as Eric explained to her, celebrities couldn't afford to be "just" people anymore.

But Aaron wasn't stepping in and stopping her so Beth figured she was doing alright.

"And what about your relationship with Zach Beauford?" Dan asked. "Do you have anything to say about your relationship with him?"

"Besides that he's confirmed to me that I'll never date another actor again?" Beth quipped and she took it as a good sign when Dan smiled. She then shook her head. "I thought I was in love, but it turned out I wasn't. I'm not the first girl who's gone through it and I won't be the last."

Dan took a moment to jot more things down in his notebook and Beth could only hope that that particular line of questioning was done.

"I know you get asked this a lot-" Dan began and Beth braced herself. "But what are some of your current favorite music?" He asked.

Beth couldn't help but exhale a sigh of relief and this time, her smile was of the usual warmth and sincerity that it always was.

…

The bathroom door opened so slowly, Daryl Dixon couldn't help but lift his head from the sink where he was washing his hands to look over curiously to see why.

When the little blonde female slipped in, for one second, Daryl thought that maybe he had been using the women's bathroom this whole time, but then he saw the urinals lining the wall and knew that she was the one to step into the wrong one.

She pressed herself against the wall and then closed the door behind her just as slowly; as if she was sneaking away and hiding from something. Only when she turned her head and saw him at the sinks – saw that she wasn't alone – she froze.

Daryl didn't say anything. He just stared at her and waited for her to say something first; if she would say anything at all. There was no reason for him to say anything. He wasn't the one sneaking into the wrong bathroom.

He normally didn't stay long when he came to Dothan to sell his cattle. He had his usual buyer and he came, dropped off the animals that were already bought and paid for and then he turned right back around to drive back to Georgia. But this trip, it had been raining in blankets so thick, people had been driving with their flashers on and going twenty below the speed limit and Daryl listened to his cattle and their distressed moos for the entire drive.

After shaking hands and saying goodbye to his cattle one more time, Daryl headed towards the nearest restaurant, needing to take some time to eat and smoke and give his hands a break from driving with them white-knuckle tight around the wheel for the drive that took twice as long as it usually did.

He treated himself to the chicken fried steak dinner with mashed potatoes, corn and two biscuits and then a slice of blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. He had two Cokes and one cup of coffee and once every plate and cup was empty and his stomach felt full, he finally felt relaxed once again and he knew he was ready to head home once more. But first, a stop to the bathroom.

"I'm sorry," the blonde blurted out and he admits that he hadn't expected her to speak at all about what she was doing in there. It wasn't really any of his business. It wasn't as if she walked in on him, pissing at one of the urinals. "I'm sorry. I just-" she took a step towards him and then stopped herself. "Can you do me a huge favor?"

He lifted an eyebrow at her, but still didn't speak.

"Pretend you never saw me."

With that, he expected her to leave the way she came in, but instead, she hurried into one of the stalls and closed the door behind her. Daryl frowned, his brow furrowed, and he looked at the closed stall door, having no idea what was going on. He couldn't even begin to make a somewhat educated guess.

But then, it seemed like just a second later, the bathroom door pushed open again and a beady little man with a camera stepped in. And just as the blonde had, this man stopped in his tracks when he saw Daryl standing there. Daryl watched the man as he turned the water in the sink off and then reached over, ripping a paper towel down from the dispenser on the wall.

"Did you see a woman come in here?" The man asked.

Daryl's eyebrow remained raised. "'s the men's room," he responded gruffly.

"Right…" the man said.

Daryl then frowned as he watched the man crouch down, peering underneath the row of stalls, clearly looking for feet, but seeing none. With a sigh, the man stood up once again and muttering to himself, he turned and left the bathroom, the door swinging shut behind him.

He had absolutely no idea what was going on and he knew he didn't really care, but he was curious. How could he not be?

He tossed the paper towel into the trashcan and then turned, leaning back against the sink with his arms crossed over his chest, and he then waited. He saw one foot come down from the toilet seat and then the other and then the door pushed open. The blonde poked her head out and her eyes immediately found Daryl.

"He gone?" She asked.

Daryl just nodded his head once and with a sigh of relief, she stepped from the stall.

"Thank you," she breathed.

"So wha'?" Daryl heard himself ask. "That guy take dirty pictures of girls in bathrooms or somethin'?"

"He would love to get a dirty picture of me," she answered, which wasn't much of an answer at all, but Daryl wasn't going to ask for another.

She looked at Daryl and gave him a smile then and if he wasn't already leaning back against the sink, that smile directed at him would have made him take a step back. It was too warm, too friendly, and Daryl didn't think he had ever had a woman smile at him like that. Like he had done something truly great to earn a smile like that. But then, he told himself that she probably smiled at everyone like that. Why would a smile towards him be any different from a smile she would give to any other stranger in the men's bathroom?

He did his best to ignore how that smile was almost making him want to squirm; as if he was being interrogated for long hours under a single light bulb and the police had just brought in this woman as their secret weapon.

"I'm Beth," she then said, sticking her hand out.

He considered for a moment not to give her his. "Daryl," he said and his hand and brain weren't clearly working together because he reached out and shook her hand.

She looked at him for a moment, as if she was waiting for something, but he just blinked at her and didn't say anything because he didn't know what she wanted. And then, she burst into another smile as her hand slipped from his and Daryl had no idea what was going on or what had made her so happy.

"I am so sorry to ask you of this, Daryl, but I have another favor to ask. A huge favor," she said and Daryl wondered what it was that made him stand there, waiting for her to say what the huge favor was. He just wanted to get back on the road and get back home. He had plenty of things to do back home.

Was it because she was just some cute woman who was hiding from a pervert with a camera? She was smaller than him, just a slip of a female, with blonde hair and big eyes and somewhat pale skin. Not really his type, but to be honest, as his brother just loved to point out to him, he didn't really have a type when it came to women. He didn't like most women. Or men. Or really, all people if they were being technical.

She looked familiar to him, vaguely, but he had no idea why she would. He knew that he had never met her before. Deep down, Daryl knew that he would remember her.

"Those windows," Beth said and pointed to the row of windows up on the wall behind the stall of toilets. "Do you think you can help me climb through one?"

…

This story idea came to me in a dream and the weirdest picture struck me with inspiration, but I'll talk more about the picture when we reach that point in the story. Yesterday, I sat down and mapped out the entire thing and this first chapter flew out of me this morning.

Lately, I have been having the hardest time writing Daryl and Beth. My inspiration has been rock bottom and what I have managed to write for them, I have felt absolutely no passion for and I think some can pick up on it in my updates. I was waiting for a truly exciting idea to strike me and I think I have it with this latest story. For the first time in quite some time, I already can't start work on chapter two.

Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to comment!