This is the End of Everything

It's been almost a month since the outbreak. Everyone in our camp began to talk to one another more and more, people formed different friendships. Ed beat Carol, and everyone knew it, he just never did it in front of us. I had begun to sort of have a bond with Daryl, we would hunt together, shortly after we started to live here Kevin and Mark showed me how to hunt. Daryl was funny when he wasn't acting like he didn't need anyone. I knew our moment of bonding happened when we talked about being abused by our parents. I guess I wasn't alone, his abuse however made him rely on himself, Merle wasn't around much to protect him. Merle was another story, no matter how hard he tried to get into my pants, I couldn't help but think of him as a friend. Yeah sure he was a racist perv, but he cared for Daryl like a father would to his son. Merle would let me talk to him when I needed to. No one at camp would give these boys a chance, I couldn't blame them though, Merle did act like a giant jackass.

I sat at the small lake with Carol, Jacqui, and Lori, they were washing clothes, I had already washed my clothes for the week, we all just talked and laughed. This was our girl time.

"So Katie, you're still really quiet" Lori said while hanging up some of the clothes.

"Meh, I figure maybe if I don't get too close to anyone I won't have to lose them" I said with a nod. I had lit a cigarette, on one of the last runs I stole a lot of cartons. Glad I seem to be the only one worried about smoking.

"Oh that's no way to think honey, we need to pull together and not worry about that" Jacqui said.

"I see you and Daryl seem to be close, not sure how you two can be close when his brother is such an asshole" Carol said with a smile.

"Merle's hard to like, I'll tell you that, it's just a matter of getting past his racist and redneck exterior. Not to mention most of the time he's doped up" I said picking up a few rocks.

"Speaking of those brother, I see one is coming down here" Lori said looking towards the path.

"Maybe Katie is getting some!" Carol said with a wink.

"Shush you! And what is I am he's hot" I said winking and ran over to meet Daryl.

He was wearing his usual sleeveless shirt with his dirt covered jeans. He had his crossbow with him, I figured that meant he wanted someone to go hunting with. Merle usually goes, but when Merle knows they're going to the city he'll ditch us. Daryl walked up with his usual scowl on his face. He didn't like to let people know he had made some sort of friend.

"I see you came crawling out of you cave" I said with a smile to him.

"Don't get too excited, ya wanna go huntin with me?" He asked, he always seemed shy when he asked.

"Sure, Merle leaving you again?" I asked standing in front of him. I always felt awkward in front of him. I couldn't help but play with my faded blue bangs. The rest of my hair was black.

"When are the only times I ask ya to come with me?" Daryl said looking at me.

He was right, I guess it was hard to be sarcastic with him.

"Alright sunshine, I gotta go grab my things, and I need to ask Merle to grab me a few things." I said stretching and walking up the path.

I found Merle quickly and saw him doing some drugs before he left.

"Hey, I need you to find me blue hair dye. My hair is fading, and I'm not down with this gross pea green it's turning" I said smiling at him.

"Oh Darlin, anything for you, but I need access into your pants" Merle said with a wink.

"Seriously bro, your a teenage boy. Get my hair dye, and if you happen to find something awesome in the city, I'd appreciate that too" I said nodding towards his drugs.

"I still have some of that cocaine, I'm not stupid I saw how fast you were gonna finish it, so I stashed some" Merle said waving a bag in my face.

"This is why I keep you around, you're smart for being a redneck" I said laughing.

"Hurry it up before my baby brother comes looking for you, seeing as all he wants to do is bone with ya" Merle said winking.

"You're dumb, he doesn't want to, and if I did, I'm sure he would let me know." I said sitting down and making myself some lines.

This was why me and Merle had started to be friends. I was going through withdraws, and he saw the signs, when he would go on runs he would try to find anything for me. He knew I couldn't stop cold turkey, so he was helping me finally ween myself off. I'd say I was doing good, I was down to maybe a few lines once a week. Better then needing it all the time. Mark, Kevin, and Hailee didn't know about any of it. Hailee had made friends with Andrea and Amy, so she was usually with them. Kevin and Mark usual hung around Shane. Merle and I finished our "bonding session" and I stood up. I felt instantly better, I knew once this was all gone, I had to deal with the withdraw. I just hoped Merle could find enough for me to last until I didn't need it.

"Hey and if Daryl really feels like that, I'm up for it, he just needs to make the first move" I said half laughing.

I left the tent and found Mark and Kevin, I figured I'd ask them for a few things since I'm already sending Merle on a mission.

"Hey stranger" I said hitting Kevin with my hip.

"Sup girl" he said.

"So I need you to find me cigarettes if possible, and for gods sake, SOME SORT OF JUNK FOOODDD" I said being dramatic about the last part.

"No promises doll, but we'll try, we need to make sure we have the rest of camp taken care of" Mark said.

"Understandable, don't forget about that, Oh and I asked Merle for a few things, he might give you guys some stuff for me" I said stretching.

"I hate that guy, I guess you are the type of person to make friends with anyone" Kevin said.

"You know me, best friend maker!" I said giving the guys a hug. I noticed Shane and Lori sneaking off. "I'll bet you a squirrel they're gonna do it" I said nodding towards them.

"No fair, your going hunting, and besides we haven't had time to go with!" Kevin said with a pouty face.

"You guys are in charge of the runs, and Daryl needs some sort of company, and you only need me when the girls need something" I said with my arms crossed.

"Whatever you say chica" Kevin said kissing the top of my head. I waved by to both of them and turned to walk away.

Daryl was standing there, jealousy flickered in his face. Merle told me how Daryl felt, but I wasn't going to try and start anything. I needed to make sure I worried about my friends first, and most importantly, if it came down to it, it was going to be me on my own. I gave Daryl and smile as I got closer, knowing I would get his usual angry look. That didn't bother me, when I got close enough to Daryl he nodded his head in a different direction. I knew he wanted to leave and go hunting now.

"I see your ready to go?" as we walked away from the group. I couldn't find Hailee to let her know that I'd be back.

"Of course I'm ready, I was waitin on yer slow ass" Daryl said pushing my arm.

"Oh whatever, you would've been lonely without me, and you know you enjoy my company" I said batting my eyelashes at him.

"Whatever, no I don't" he said with a small smile.

"Well fine, I'm sure you like staring at my ass" I said with a sly smile. I had caught him a few times, but never said anything.

"I don't stare at yer ass!" he yelled, I knew he was embarrassed.

"I was just kidding, but seeing as you're getting worked up about it, I'm not so sure now" I said laughing.

"Stupid girl" Daryl said mumbling.

"Stupid redneck" I said mimicing him.

"You get on my nerves" he said glaring at me.

"And your a pain in my ass" I said, we both fell silent as we heard a deer.

Daryl motioned for me to be quiet, I nodded in his direction and followed. The deer started to walk away, neither of us could get a clear shot. We began to follow it, it seemed like hours since we had followed it. Daryl finally got a shot at it but it ran away.

"For fucking real?!" I yelled angrily.

"Don't worry sweetheart we'll get 'em" Daryl said looking for tracks.

I wasn't sure if he realized that he just called me sweetheart. He's never called me sweetheart before. Merle was always calling me by pet names. Hearing it from Daryl made me blush, it made my heart beat pick up, I could feel butterflies in my stomach. Had Merle said something to him before he came to find me? Or could it just be me still hyped up on cocaine. I felt like I was in high school, saying hi to your crush for the first time. I shook my head and followed Daryl, I shot a few squirrels, and a rabbit. We heard people talking, Daryl went first, it was the group. A walker had gotten out deer. Daryl began to curse and get mad.

"Hey Shane, aside from him, I got a few squirrels and a rabbit, we can at least cook that up for now." I said holding up the animals.

"Thanks Katie, hey Sophia isn't feeling good, is there any medicine that you can give her?" Shane asked.

"I'll take a look and see what I have left, next run I need to get to another pharmacy to stock up, especially since most antibiotics won't go bad until sometime next year" I said walking away from him.

I found Hailee and she ran over.

"Hey pretty lady!" Hailee said hugging me.

"Hello gorgeous" I said pulling away.

"Well, I should say you and Daryl are getting close" Hailee said.

"He called me sweetheart earlier!" I said with a big smile.

"Oh you two would be cute together, It's just weird to know that you are friends with them" Hailee said.

"So I've heard, I don't see what the big deal is though, so what if those two aren't social like everyone else, they aren't so bad, I mean Merle is just Merle, but he isn't as horrible as he seems." I said shrugging.

Hailee nodded, I could hear Daryl talking in the background. I needed to give him the squirrels and rabbit so he could skin them. My nose was beginning to get clogged up, oh how I don't miss having a stuffy nose all the time. I handed the squirrel over to Daryl and walked away I needed to sit by myself for a little bit. I could feel myself coming down from the high. I walked to my tent and went to grab my cigarettes, I saw a little note.

"Here ya are sunshine, I figured you would need a little bit for the come down. If my baby bro hasn't done anything by tonight I'm calling dibs" I rolled my eyes at Merle, even when he wasn't here he was still trying. I grabbed the small wrapped up bag. I grabbed my cigarettes. I stuffed the bag in my pocket and went towards the lake. Daryl looked over with a questioning look while I walked away. I just smiled and kept walking. I found my usual quiet spot and sad down. I had our old car key and I would use that for my bumps. After snorting those bumps I said and thought about how I felt now, compared to how I felt before. I don't know why, but I felt good around Daryl, even if Merle wasn't there to help me ween myself off of anything. I lit a cigarette and heard some foot steps. I opened my eyes and saw Daryl. He smiled and sat next to me. I lifted the pack towards him, he nodded and grabbed one. We sat there just staring at each other.

"Soooo, how'd skinning those poor little animals go?" I asked taking another drag.

"The usual, everyone looked on disgusted that I was doing that. How was your alone time?" Daryl asked.

"Nice" I said nodding.

"I know what your doing" he said looking at me.

"What?" I asked unsure if he knew about the drugs.

"If you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. I know you and Merle bond over drugs, but that doesn't mean you only need to talk to him" Daryl said putting his hand on mine.

"What? No dude that's not the case, I just..I don't know, I was going through withdraws really bad, and Merle was there to help, and he talks to me too, but it doesn't mean I feel like he's the only one I can talk to. I just never know if you want to talk, or if your in one of your moods" I said shrugging.

"You can always talk to me, I may be an ass most of the time, but I know how to be a gentlemen, and listen to a lady" Daryl said with a smile.

"Do me a favor? Don't tell anyone else about the drugs. And how did you know?" I asked him, that kind of bugged me.

"Really?! Merle is king of drugs, I know the signs, I ain't stupid" Daryl said with a half smile.

"Your lucky I like you" I said with a smile.

I took another drag and looked at Daryl, I knew he was too shy and uncomfortable to make any sort of move first. I blow the smoke in his face and looked away like nothing had happened. Daryl took a drag and did the same thing. This went on for the next few drags, I put my cigarette out and decided it was time to stretch again. I heard Daryl put out his cigarette, then I heard him sigh. I was still busy with my stretch to bother looking at him. I felt hands on either side of my head, and then lips that crashed into mine. I was surprised at first, but kissed back, I put my arms around Daryl's shoulders and tried to make the moment last for as long as possible. I pulled Daryl closer to deepen the kiss, he did the same. I could hear my name being called. Daryl pulled away even though I didn't want him to.

"I guess you have business to attend to" Daryl said still breathless.

"Continue this later?" I asked pulling away.

"Maybe, if I feel like it" Daryl said with a smirk

"Don't tease, bad things will happen" I said getting up to see who was yelling for me.

I wish that kiss didn't stop, I knew this could lead to some time in one of our tents. I walked over and saw Andrea, I didn't really get along with her, but if it was important I could deal with it.

"We need to make a run and get some clothes for the girls, it's starting to get colder and we're going to need warmer clothes" Andrea said.

"Yeah, we'll go in the morning" I said walking towards the rest of the camp.

A ruined moment for something that could've waited til the morning. It was almost sunset, everyone would be getting ready to turn in for the night. Not to mention we had to eat dinner still.