~Well hello everyone! I have been wanting to do a Daryl and OC fanfiction but I didn't know how I was going to approach it but I woke up this morning listening to music and this one song gave me inspiration. This is going to be set before the apocalypse. So this is going to be the introduction and the other chapters are going to be set in different time periods. I will specify the age differences and all that so it doesn't get confusing. Also it may be a little different to Daryl's actual background history that was revealed in the show. So please enjoy the read and please review what you think and any ideas you have. I would appreciate it all. I do not own the walking dead or any of the characters except my OC.~

(So in the show I want to go with that Daryl is like 35 years old but in this introduction Daryl is 27 years old. My OC is Archer Magnolia Stevens. I like the ring to it. She will be 25 years old. She is about 3 inches shorter than Daryl. She has green eyes and has long wavy black hair.)

Daryl POV (I will try my best to get his speech correct. If I make any mistakes please let me know)

It's been a while since I was back in my hometown. I left a few years ago. It was hard but I needed space. I decided to go to my favorite diner to get some dinner for the first night back. I parked my bike out in front of the place and walked in. A nice girl sat me in a booth and told me that my waiter will be with me momentarily. I nodded quietly and stared at the menu.

I just continued to stare at the menu as I tuned out the noise around me. I was doin pretty well til a certain name reached out to me.

"Where the hell is Archer! She was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago!" The cook shouted from the kitchen.

Archer?

"She called saying that her car got a flat. She said she would be here as soon as she could." One of the waitresses replied before coming over to me. "You ready to order, sugar?"

"Yeah. Just give me the number 13 and a cup of joe." I replied.

"Sure thang hun."

"Who's Archer?" I asked bluntly.

She raised a brow at this. "One of our waitresses. She is…" A door slammed open and a female ran across us and through the back door. "She is the one that just ran by. She's the waitress that usually takes care of the customers that sits by the counter." I didn't respond. I just stared in the direction she ran. "I'll put your order in." She said and walked off.

The girl that ran by came out in her uniform and her hair in a ponytail. She started talking to a customer and all I could do was stare at her. When I got a good look at her face I gasped.

(10 year old Daryl and 8 year old Archer)

I watched from my porch as a small dinky move in truck parked at the house across the street. I watched as a man and a woman stepped out of their pickup truck that was parked in the driveway. They were examining the outside of the house for a few minutes before the woman went inside and the man went back to the car. I watched as his lips moved as if he was talking to someone. Within a few minutes he pulled a figure out of the car and set them on the ground. The figure was a little girl. She looked to be around my age. She stood there while clutching a bear and looked at her surroundings. Her eyes turned in my direction. I looked back and raised my hand to wave. She shyed away and ran into the house. I scoffed and went back to what I was doing.

It was around 4 when I was in the house fiddling with the little toys I had when I heard a knock on the door. My father, Will stumbled his way over to the door as once again he was drunk.

"What?!" I heard him shout. I heard the voices but couldn't be clear what was being said. It was then I heard my father shouting again. "Boy! Get in here." I sighed and slowly made my way to the living room. I looked to see the man and little girl I saw earlier today. "Dis be our new neighbors."

I gave a small head nod.

"Well I'm Jack Stevens and this is my daughter Archer." The man introduced. "Say hello Archer."

"Hi." The girl greeted weakly. Our fathers went into the kitchen and left the two of us alone.

"So…Archer is it?" I asked.

She nodded. "Is your name boy?"

I shook my head. "It's Daryl."

"That's a nice name." She gave a small smile.

I shrugged. "Just a name."

"It makes you, you tho."

"Archer makes you, you?"

She nodded. "I have a bow and arrow. I'm good at it."

I smirked. "I have a crossbow."

She smiled brightly. "Really? Can I see it?"

Before I could answer the men came back laughing. "God Will, you are a delight." Jack complimented.

"Same to you fella. You should come over and drink with me sometime."

"Sure thing. It'll be an excuse to get away from the wife every now and then."

"Or everyday." They laughed some more.

"Come on, Archer. Let's get home."

I watched as she nodded then looked at me. "Maybe you can show me that crossbow another day?"

I nodded and she smiled again. They left without another word. That was probably the first time a met a girl that was actually decent.

I continued to stare at Archer and she hasn't noticed yet that I was here. I was so lost in thought, I didn't even realize my food arrived.

"Are you alright, sir?" my waitress asked.

"Fine." I grumbled and looked down at my food.

It had been a long time since I last saw Archer. We had always been together then drifted apart then back together again. It wasn't a normal friendship but she was one of the only friends I had besides my brother Merle.

I wonder what her reaction will be like when she sees me. Will she be cheerful and happy as she has always been since I first met her, or will she be angry and threatened to shoot an arrow in my ass? I sighed heavily and started to eat my food slowly.

~Well I know this was very short but what do you guys think so far? I think the next chapter I write will take place in their childhood a little more than come back to this. I just want to give credit to the song So Contagious by Acceptance so the inspiration and will be the title of this story.~