(Originally, I'd written this one my phone, but I edited due to mistakes: This is gonna be a two or three chapter thing. I was gonna make it a one shot, but it's already pretty long. It's probably too long and detailed already. And it's kinda cliche'. Similar to another story I've done in some ways, I know. But this idea came to me based on a theory that my best guy friend posed to me and I decided to apply this theory to Caryl. Maybe a few people will get some enjoyment out of it.)

Nineteen-year old Daryl Dixon was making his way home from a double shift at the local kaolin plant he'd been working at since he was eighteen years old. He worked in the loading room as a bagger. Basically, his job entailed moving 50 to 60 pound bags of kaolin around all day, from the assembly line to wherever they needed to go. Transfer trucks, train cars, pallets, it varied, really, depending on where the kaolin needed to be shipped.

The work was tedious. Mundane. He did the same thing, day in and day out, and sometimes he thought he'd go insane from the monotony of it all. But the pay was decent for a job right out of high school and it even came with a benefits package. He found he couldn't complain, really. He was lucky to have the job. Most people that just graduated and didn't have some type of manufacturing experience didn't land their foot in the door. Not these days, anyway.

And other than the repetitive nature of it all, and the fact that sometimes he went home feeling like he got ran over by a damn semi, the job wasn't all that bad. It provided him with money to help put food on his table, to pay household bills, make the monthly note on his truck, to buy new hunting and fishing toys when he wanted them.

He had his brother to thank for the job, he supposed. Hell, to be honest, he had his brother to thank for far more than that.

Merle, his brother, was six years older than Daryl. Even so, the boys had always been close. Probably because for the longest time, it felt like they only had each other.

Their mother died when Daryl was only nine, Merle had been fourteen at the time. She'd overdosed on a combination of narcotics and alcohol while the boys were at school. They came home off of the school bus one dreary afternoon and found her, slumped over in the chair, a cheap bottle of wine still clutched in her hand. It was an image Daryl wasn't ever sure he'd burn out of his mind, coming home to find his own mother like that. Sometimes, even now, the haunting image would appear in his dreams and startle him awake at night.

The coroner had ruled her death as an accidental over dose. But the older Daryl got, the more he wondered how accidental it had been.

His mother had been a victim of abuse at the hand of his father since well before he was born. One of his first memories was of his father backhanding her for no reason, claiming she hadn't folded his jeans just right. As a result of his father's abuse, she drowned herself in pills and booze to block out the pain, or at least Daryl assumed that's why she did it.

He didn't have too many memories of his mother being sober. Like he didn't have too many memories of his father not being an asshole. As an adult, he found he sometimes wondered if she hadn't overdosed on purpose. If that life hadn't simply become too much for her and she opted out. The years of mental and physical abuse had a way of taking their toll on a person. He knew that all too well. After all, he and Merle endured the brunt of his father's anger just as much as his own mother had, the abuse only worsening after she passed. Woman or child, it didn't matter to Will Dixon, whoever was available would be his punching bag.

Merle had gotten the fuck out of that house and away from that life just as soon as he could. He enlisted in the army the day after he turned eighteen, leaving twelve-year old Daryl feeling abandoned and alone. At the time, he'd thought Merle was running away from him. Leaving him to fend for himself with their father. He didn't see that Merle was trying to better himself, and in the long run, better Daryl. He'd been so damn angry with Merle that he wouldn't respond to letters that he sent. He wouldn't speak to him when he came back to visit after he finished boot camp. Instead, Daryl sulked in his room the entire time Merle had been home, which is how he'd primarily spent his days after Merle had left.

Not long after completing boot camp, Merle ended up being shipped over-seas. Daryl was still pissed and kept ignoring letters. Time went by and Daryl remained sullen, until one day a call would change Daryl's young life forever, and Merle's.

His brother had been shot in the hand during combat. His left hand had practically been blown off. They had to amputate and Merle was medically discharged from the military. Daryl had been so relieved his brother was alright that all anger he felt about Merle leaving was dissolved. Naturally, he assumed Merle would come back home and live with him and their father. Maybe even get on disability since he was missing a limb. After all, Dixon's were quite familiar with government assistance, though unlike Merle, most of them didn't truly need it.

And Merle had come home, alright. Just as soon as he'd been discharged, he made his way back to his childhood home, just not to stay. His mission was to get his little brother and get him the fuck out of there once and for all. He'd demanded that their father give his younger brother to him. Of course, Will refused. Not because he cared about Daryl, but because that meant his food stamps would be cut in half if the boy was gone. And likely because he wouldn't have a punching bag if he didn't have at least one son around.

Merle hadn't backed down though. Not at all. He'd bulked up a lot in the army, doubled in size almost. And when his old man had come at him, even with one hand, he'd left him on his ass. With a knife pressed to the man's throat, he threatened to kill fucker if he ever tried to lay a hand on either son again. Then, he calmly made Daryl pack a bag and left town with him.

They'd lived in Dahlonega at the time. A small town in the mountains of north Georgia. Merle moved them about three hours away, down near the fall line. To an even smaller town that revolved around the kaolin industry. Merle used what was left of his signing bonus to purchase a small, single wide trailer on a about an acre of land. It was on a rural road with very few houses close by, which had been just fine by both boys.

He'd found out about the small town from an army buddy who'd grown up there. The guy's father was a foreman at the kaolin plant, and he'd talked his dad into giving Merle a job there, one hand and all.

Daryl could remember, back when he first moved there, being scared that their father would show up and try and take him back, or worse, kill him or Merle both for leaving in the first place. But Merle promised him that wouldn't ever happen. That Daryl wouldn't ever have to go back there and that he'd take care of him from now on. And so, Merle did just that. Ever since Daryl as thirteen years old, he'd been living with his older brother. And Merle had done what he said. Taken care of him. Always making sure he had food on the table, that he went to school, the had had a warm bed to sleep in at night.

Of course, Merle wasn't perfect. He partied a lot. A hell of a lot. Sometimes when Daryl had to be up for school the next day, twenty or thirty people would be piled in their small trailer drinking and carrying on. And there were women in and out of the place all the time. All the damn time. Daryl doubted Merle could remember half of their names. He doubted even more that his brother cared to. Merle was a womanizing pig. He always had been. But, none of that really mattered to Daryl. All that did matter to him was that Merle got him the fuck out of that God-forsaken environment they lived in. That he'd done right by him, just like he had said he would.

And that didn't extend to just making sure he made it to eighteen, then dumping him on his ass. Merle made sure Daryl had a job waiting for him at the kaolin plant when he finished high school. And Daryl wasn't really sure he'd ever be able to repay Merle for all he'd done for him. Because of him, he'd ended up with a relatively stable life. A safe place to live. And even a few good friends, which was something he definitely didn't have back when he lived with his old man.

And one of those friends was currently on their way to his house right now.

()()()

Daryl walked in the front door on the tiny, two-bedroom trailer he still shared with Merle. He kicked off his work boots, covered with the white gold that kept this whole town afloat, and left them by the front door. Then peeled his t-shirt off, which was also covered in the white powdery mess, and made his made his way to his compact bathroom so he could grab a quick shower before his company arrived.

And while he was completely exhausted today, and much rather just climb in his bed and knock out just like he was, he forced his feet towards the shower anyway and started cleaning himself up, because he'd made plans tonight, or rather Carol had made plans for him.

She'd called him as soon as he clocked out and insisted on coming over with pizza and a movie. Going on and on about the fact that they hadn't seen each other in days due to him working doubles and her being tied down with home-work. She didn't have class the next day and she knew he didn't have work, and she'd wanted them to spend the evening together, watching movies and pigging out, just like they'd done so many times in high school.

See, Carol was his best friend. Hell, she was the first fried he ever really made after moving to this chalk town. They'd moved here halfway through his eighth-grade year and he'd mostly kept to himself back then. He spent most of his time not in school out in the woods behind their trailer. He was painfully shy back then and didn't much care to be around people. He'd noticed Carol though, even in his eighth-grade year.

She was a curly haired girl with pale skin, freckles, and striking blue eyes who sat beside him in his Georgia history class. She was a bit shy herself, from what he noticed. Keeping to a small group that consisted of two other girls, a loud and opinionated blond and a brunette who wasn't far behind her in that area.

They hadn't spoken much that year. Though she would smile and offer him a hello some days when she took her seat. Not a fake smile, but a warm, genuine smile that seemed, for some reason or another, to show she'd been happy to see his awkward ass in class each day.

But that was about as limited as their interactions had been at the time. Occasional smiles here and there on her part. Though there was the fact that sometimes if he missed class, usually due to Merle keeping him awake partying too late, she'd offer him her notes from the day before. He'd take them and grunt out an almost unintelligible thanks to her.

However, that all changed their ninth -grade year. Carol had started dating some older boy. A senior on the football team. His name was Ed Pelitier, and from what little Daryl had seen of him, he seemed like a grade A asshole. He was arrogant and loud and Daryl hadn't really understood how the two ended up together. She was quiet and sweet. Though he was almost positive it had something to do with the fact that Andrea, the blond girl Carol often hung around, was dating the dudes best friend, Phillip Blake.

Anyway, during the late fall months of their freshman year, Daryl had been making his way to his locker, which wouldn't you know it, happened to be next to hers. He saw her, standing there with that boyfriend of hers, arguing. He couldn't hear everything that was being said, but it was obvious Ed had wanted Carol to do something she wasn't comfortable with. She'd told him no and to leave her alone. Daryl watched out of the corner of his eye as she turned and went to put her bookbag in her locker, assuming Ed had turned and stomped off.

But he hadn't. His angry fist connected with the locker, landing directly next to her head, Daryl continued to watch as the older boy firmly gripped her wrist, hissing something about not going anywhere and her being his.

Without much thought, Daryl snapped into action, grabbing the older boy by the back of his shirt and slamming him into the lockers. Fists connected with faces and Ed ended up with a black eye and a busted lip. Though he was probably half a foot shorter than Ed at the time, he'd laid an ass whooping on the football player in front of almost the entire ninth grade. He'd unleashed anger on that boy that he'd wanted to unleash on his father for as long as he could remember. It wasn't right. A man putting his hands on a woman like that. Same way his daddy had done to his mama all those years ago. He'd be damned if he was ever gonna sit around and watch something like that happen to anyone again. Especially someone who he'd never seen be anything but nice to anyone.

He'd ended up suspended for his good did, though. He and Ed both, three days each. The second day of his suspension he'd had a knock on his door a little after 3:30 in the afternoon. The knock had surprised him, because Merle was at work and Daryl himself never got company.

When he had gone to the door Carol was standing there awkwardly fidgeting with her hands and smiling at him. Without saying anything other than a thank you, she pulled him into a hug, one he didn't return, then kissed him on the cheek, leaving him standing there, eyes wide, cheeks beet red, mouth slightly gaping, as she shyly waved goodbye and muttered she'd see him around school.

And by see him around school, she pretty much meant cling to his damn hip from that second on. Because once he got back to school, she'd started sitting with him at lunch or walking up beside him in the halls and following him to his next class, eventually coming to his house after school and spending most of her free time with him. She stuck to him like white on rice from that day forward. And he quickly learned that for someone who seemed so damn quiet, she sure could yap your damn ear off once she felt comfortable around you.

She dominated most of their early conversations, receiving one word responses or grunts. At the time, he didn't figure she would really be around all too long, he only assumed she was hanging around him as a sort of body guard in case Ed came around causing trouble again.

Eventually, he found himself growing comfortable with her presence and enjoying her company. And even when Ed moved on and started dating another freshman, Carol didn't high tail it away from him either. Instead, they grew even closer. Over time, when Andrea and Phillip Blake broke up, and Lori started dating someone their age named Rick Grimes, the two of them ended up sitting at a lunch table with the those three and Shane Walsh, and she sort of assimilated him into her little group of friends.

And that had been that. She'd become his best friend during his freshman year. His confidant. The person he could tell anything to. And he knew that he was that same person to her. They knew things about one another no one else did.

She knew about his past with his parents. He knew about her own home life woes. Her father was a functioning alcoholic who worked at the kaolin plant with Merle. Though the man was never physically abusive, he could often be quite verbally abusive towards her and her mother. Her mother suffered in silence. Not believing in divorce and always reasoning that things could be worse. Maybe that's why they got along so well, he supposed. Both carrying secrets of their own. Demons of their own no one else knew about. There was an understanding between them. A deep level of care and trust between the two that didn't exist with anyone else in their world.

He had a soft spot for this girl. Always had, thinking back. He'd do anything for her. To see her smile. To know she was happy.

Anything, such as, staying up and watching stupid movies when he'd rather be asleep, like he'd agreed to do thar evening.

()()()

Carol was carefully making her way up the steps of Daryl's front porch, a box of pizza in one hand and a rented movie in another. She didn't bother knocking on the door. That was something she'd stopped doing a long time ago when it came to going to the Dixon brother's home. Both boys had let her know she was welcome there any time.

Though, there was a downside to walking into Merle Dixon's house without knocking. That downside being, that you just might get an eyeful of Merle JR upon entry. The elder Dixon had a strange fascination with walking around stark naked. And he carried no shame when it came to someone seeing him that way. On the contrary, he'd grin at you lasciviously and lick his lips, then proceed to ask if you wanted to "give him a hand" so to speak.

Merle was lewd and crass, confident and outgoing. He had been since the day she'd met him. And in some ways, Carol found it hard to believe he was really related to Daryl at all. The younger Dixon was shy and timid, extremely un-confident and terribly awkward. She couldn't picture ever opening the front door and walking in to find Daryl butt naked in all his glory.

Okay, maybe that was kind of a lie. She could picture it, she could so picture it in her head. Because Daryl was gorgeous. So…Freaking…Gorgeous. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't attracted to him. She had been almost since the first time she'd met him back in eighth grade. She'd had a school girl crush on him back then. His ripped jeans, cut off shirts, shaggy hair, and pouty face had appealed to her, though it put most people in their grade off.

It's why she'd always smiled at him or offered her his notes if he was absent. Hoping to strike up some conversation with him eventually or forge some sort of connection.

But between the way he only offered her one syllable responses or how he averted meeting her eyes for the longest time, like he'd turn to stone if he looked in them, she didn't much think she'd had a chance and she'd give up on him. Moving on in high school and swooning for the senior football player who came after her, her of all people. A mere freshman. It had made her feel good. Attractive. Wanted.

Yeah, that worked out for her just great. What an asshole Ed had turned out to be.

But in hindsight, maybe it really had worked out well for her. Daryl jumped in to defend her and it ended up sparking the wonderful friendship she shared with him today. A friendship she wouldn't trade for a thing.

Although, sometimes, she couldn't help but let her mind wander and think about him in other, more intimate, ways. She'd tried, more than a few times over the years, to test the water and see if maybe he ever wanted more than that with her as well. A flirtatious comment here. A dirty joke there. A hug she let linger a little longer than necessary. But he never seemed to take the bait. Not once reciprocating in flirty banter or making a sexual innuendo of his own.

Though, he had clung to her longer than normal a few times and ran his hand through her hair on more than on occasion. But she dismissed it because each time he'd been comforting her when he did. She'd essentially given up on the idea of him ever finding her the least bit attractive and having any sort of shot with him as anything other than his best friend.

And maybe she was okay with that. Maybe it was for the best. If they ever did anything, if they ever took that leap and things didn't work, she might lose him forever. And she wasn't sure she could handle that. He meant more to her than anything in this world, and she couldn't imagine her life without him.

But still, it didn't stop her from admiring his toned arms, his sexy, gruff voice, or, his almost soul. piercing, blue eyes from time to time.

()()()

Carol shifted the DVD from the hand she'd been holding it in and tested it on top of the pizza box as she entered the trailer. She shook her head at the chalk covered boots Daryl had left by the front door. A dust trail of white lined the blue carpet.

She could hear the water running, and with no Daryl in sight, she quickly deduced he was more than likely cleaning up from his hard day at work. She walked over to the coffee table, placing the pizza box and DVD down. A magazine with a topless woman and an ashtray with the guts of a split cigarillo caught her eye before she walked away. "Merle" she muttered to herself, then rolled her eyes. She grabbed two Styrofoam cups and went and fixed them both something to drink while she waited patiently for Daryl to get done with his shower.

But by the time she was finished getting everything ready, Daryl still wasn't out and the water was still running. She sighed as she made her way through the narrow hallway, stopping and knocking on the door of the only bathroom in the house. "Stop thinking about me while you're in there, will you?" She teased from behind the door. "I promise, the real thing's a whole lot better."

Daryl had been in the middle of washing his hair when he heard Carol knocking and making her little joke. He grinned and shook his head at her comment, instead of blushing like he would have if she'd been able to see his face, causing droplets of water and suds to splash against the shower wall. "Cut that shit out." He yelled over the sound of the water. "Washing my damn hair. I'll be out in a minute."

"I'm sure you are." She chuckled. "Now hurry up, I'm ready to eat."

Daryl scrubbed the rest of the suds out of his hair and toweled off in the bathroom, leaving his dirty clothes on the bathroom floor. He draped the damp towel across his waist and headed to grab a clean change of clothes out of his room, which happened to be right next to the bathroom. He turned and glanced down the hallway after stepping out of the bathroom, seeing Carol leaned back on his couch, feet crossed and resting on the coffee table. She grinned at him and then whistled at the sight of him only in the towel.

He felt his face flush as he scurried off towards his bedroom. Once he was in there he quickly shut the door and slid on a pair of boxers, then a pair of cargo shots. He didn't bother with a shirt. For one, because it was hot as balls outside and they didn't have central heat and air. Merle had been too cheap to spring for it. And for two, it was Carol and she'd seen him shirtless hundreds of times by now. He didn't feel as self-conscious half naked in front of her as he would have in front of anyone else.

He made his way towards her, plopping down on the end of the couch she hadn't been sitting on. "Thanks for picking this up. What do I owe you?" He asked, reaching forward and going to open the pizza box in front of him.

"Don't worry about. It's on me, this time." She insisted, reaching forward herself and grabbing her own slice. She took a bite and then grinned at him. "You can pay me back by taking me to some fancy restaurant next time we hang out."

He snorted at her comment as he shoved the rest of his slice in his mouth, chewing greedily, then snatching a second slice. "How was class today?" He mumbled with a full mouth.

"It was alright. We're studying Hamlet in World Literature. I'd actually enjoy it if my professor's voice didn't sound like a screech owl."

He gave her one of those half smiles of his. "You're such a damn nerd. Why the hell do I hang out with you?"

She could literally feel her stomach bubble with excitement at that smile of his. At the way his blue eyes shined brighter as he teased her. And she hated herself for feeling that way about him. For how long she'd been feeling that way about him. But she couldn't stop it. She'd damn sure tried, tried for as long as she could remember.

She pushed the feeling aside and buried it down deep, something she'd gotten very good at doing, then she returned a playful smile of her own and swatted his leg in mock offence. "I'll just go home." She pouted. "Since I'm such a nerd and you don't like me."

She leaned up and reached for the pizza box. "And I'm taking this with me." He grabbed her wrist and yanked her to him, she yelped and her head fell on his bare chest.

"You ain't going nowhere, damn it it. I done got a shower and stayed awake for your ass. Now you gotta stay here and entertain me." He looked down at her carefully, studying her face so he was sure she'd know he'd only been kidding, which he was sure she did after all the years they'd been friends, then he gave her another lopsided grin. "Besides, you can't take my pizza. I'm still eating it."

She pinched him hard, earning a yelp from him this time. He jumped and released her from his grip and she leaned up, but instead of getting up to leave, she grabbed the DVD. She popped it out of the case, then leaned over toward the entertainment center, bent over and put in the DVD player. Once the DVD was in she made her way back to the couch, opting to take her seat on the end she'd originally been sitting on, rather than lending against Daryl's chest like she had been moments before. Though, she had to admit, she preferred the latter position to the former.

He glanced over at her once she took her seat again. He chewed a hangnail on his thumb, then asked. "What movie did you get, anyway?"

"Zack and Miri Make a Porno."

Daryl wasn't eating anymore, but he almost choked on air at her words. "You...you brought... porn? For…Us?...To watch?"

She laughed so hard at that she felt like one of her ribs might crack, by the time she regained her composer, she was still smirking at him.

"What's so damn funny?" He demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

Still grinning, she responded, "It's not porn, Daryl. It's a comedy. Seth Rogan's in it."

He shifted and cocked an eyebrow at her. "What's it about?"

"Two best friends who are broke and make a porno." She shrugged, then winked at him. "You never know, it could be us one day. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

He stared at her, watching the twinkle in her eye as she kept her gaze trained on him. Finally, he just rolled his eyes at her. "Stop." He muttered, grabbing the remote and pressing play.

()()()

The two of them finished off the pizza and watched the movie in relative silence. About a quarter of the way through, Daryl felt the mixture of exhaustion of the last few days and the satisfaction of having a full belly creeping up on him. His eyelids started feeling heavy, his back was aching in the sitting position he was in, and he wanted nothing more than to stretch out and nod off. He glanced over at Carol. She was on the other end of the couch, looking bright eyed and wide awake. She must have felt his stares after a moment because she looked over at him with curiosity.

"You alright?" She asked, noticing the tired look on his face and seeing the sheer exhaustion in his eyes.

"I'm good. Just tired. Doubles are kicking my ass, and my back hurts like a mother fucker."

She shook her head. "How many of those bags have you been carrying at once?"

"Many as I can."

"Daryl." She scolded. "You're gonna hurt yourself. What have I told you about doing that?"

"It really ain't no big deal." He dismissed. "All the guys in the loading room do it, saves time to carry as many as you can. You get more done."

She knew there was no point in arguing with him about it, though she did worry he was going to pull something one of these days. She reached up and grabbed the remote, pausing the movie. She could hear the sleepy sound in his voice as he spoke and she hated feeling like she was keeping him awake. "You wanna finish this tomorrow?" She suggested. "You seem really tired."

"Nah, we already started it. Ain't no sense in you leaving."

"You sure?"

He nodded.

"Well, come here then." She patted her lap.

He arched a brow at her. "You want me to sit in your lap?"

"No." She chuckled lightly. "Lay down. Stretch out."

He hesitantly moved to stretch out, intending to put his feet in her lap.

"Not like that." She corrected. "Lay the other way." She awkwardly motioned from his head to her lap. "I can rub your back for you if you lay that way."

Daryl nervously raked his teeth over his bottom lip. She was wearing a pair of cut off shorts, and he'd be damned if they weren't some of the tiniest shorts he'd ever seen her wearing the entire damn time he'd known her. If he moved to that position, he'd basically be laying on her fully exposed thighs.

She saw the hesitation written on his face. Noticed him chewing his bottom lip, which was his go to response when he was anxious about something. "It's just a back rub, Daryl. And it's just laying your head in my lap. No big deal. I'm not pulling my shorts down and asking you to chow down on me. Come on, we've slept in a bed together before. I was just laying on your chest earlier. Stop being so shy."

He swallowed hard and nodded. He could do this. It wasn't a big deal at all. It was just a back rub. Right?