Hello Everyone! EarthWolf here, this is the first of many stories that I wish to publish within the remainder of this year and the beginning of next year. I really hope you all enjoy it and don't feel like any of the characters are, well, out-of-character. I do not own The Walking Dead so here stands my disclaimer. I hope to see you all review!

~Daryl's Inspiration~

I slowly pushed the metal pole on the heavy green door and was cautious to keep it from creaking as I took a peek inside the dim lit building. I held a large 24 inch machete in front of me for protection as I let the light from outside illuminate the room. The floor was wooden and dusty. The walls, once painted a dull white, were now browned with age. Cobwebs hung on every corner of the room and spiders nestled comfortably in the small cramp spaces left where wooden planks boarded up the windows. I slowly walked inside, my senses on full alert as my soft silky hair brushed against my face. The room was empty except for an old purple beat box and a couple of foldable chairs. I closed the door behind me, and nearly jumped at the sight of my own reflection on the left wall from the door—it was adorned by a large full wall mirror. At the very top of the wall—where the mirror was no longer able to reach—a simple, black, hand clock read 9:56. Whether it was A.M. or P.M., I couldn't tell, but the hands were no longer moving, and I was certain the current time was closer to noon than it was nine.

I began to walk over to the hallway that stood alone at the other side of the room, across from the wall with the giant mirror. I pulled out my flashlight and scanned the hallway carefully. It was clear. The hallway split into two other paths and I took the right one which lead to an office. The glass from the front desk had been broken down and the door was wide open but not a single body was inside. I turned back and took the left path this time, but all I found was a men's bathroom, a women's bathroom, and a supply closet. Once satisfied that I really was alone I allowed myself to rummage through the office that held a storage room conveniently hidden behind the first open door. It was actually quite the fire hazard if anyone asked me. The storage room was also empty of any living dead, or decaying dead for that matter. It was adorned with certificates, awards, trophies, and pictures of little kids, the majority girls, but there was a boy here and there every once in a while.

The plump middle age lady that kept reappearing in the pictures I took to be the dance instructor. On the desk there was a nameplate that proudly read in gold letters 'Emily Aleigha Dixon' "Dixon…" I trailed off in thought as a particular picture on the desk caught my eye. It was the same woman, her face looked tender and happy, her cheeks were a rosy red color, and her eyes were a sea-blue, much like the eyes of the little boy that clutched onto her side grinning wide at the camera. He was missing a couple of teeth, but one could say he was a really happy kid, by the way his smile stretched from ear to ear and his matted blond locks swished in his face. The T-shirt he was wearing was a white color with the picture of a squirrel throwing 'the bird' at anyone who was unfortunate enough to looks its way. The boy wore black tights and tattered old sneakers. He was certainly a cute kid.

The more I rummaged through the office the more interesting things got. I opened a drawer from the filing cabinet next to the desk and found it to be filled with old VHS tapes. All the tapes had different labels, which I read through, "Dixie's 2007 Local Championship Recital"; "Erick's Fast Beat Hip Hop Audition"; "Ms. Dixon's 2004 Winning Flash Mob"; "Daryl's 1st Competition", I froze. I reread the last title and slowly picked the tape up and out of the cabinet. I looked for a light switch to try the lights. When I found a switch I took the liberty of flipping it upwards and the storage room light bulb flickered till the room was lit. I spotted a TV hooked up to a VCR and walked over to turn it on. Bingo, it worked, and so did the VCR. I pushed the flap and took a look inside checking if another tape was in there, when I found none I clicked the eject button once to make sure and then I pushed the tape inside.

The once blue TV screen flickered and turned black before an image appeared. I slowly began to click the volume button on the bottom of the TV and smiled. Ms. Emily Dixon's voice came on from behind the camera.

Her voice was sweet and vibrant like honey glistening from its hive on a summer's day, "Hey there little maaaan! How's my favorite nephew?"

The boy seemed upset. He had his arms crossed and he turned to sit with his back towards the camera. "Well ain't you gonna speak to me?" Ms. Dixon's voice was heard again from behind the camera; her southern accent peeking a bit as she spoke.

"I ain't gonna talk, Aunt Emily," the boy seemed firm about his answer.

Emily turned the camera angel around to her nephews face and set it down on a chair while she sat next to him. "Daryl, what's wrong? Did Merle or your parents do something to ya?"

He shook his head at her and turned again trying his best to hide the fact that he was pouting and holding back tears.

"Daryl…," her voice was soft and caring as she sang his name out with an amusing smile plastered across her face, "Well, will ya at least dance for me today, Daryl?"

Daryl shook his little blond head.

She continued to encourage him, "Come on Sweetums! You just have to dance for me! That is, if you ain't too chicken to get up on stage," She trailed off and sighed as she rolled her eyes and shrugged pulling away from him.

He looked back at her from the corner of his eyes and tentatively responded, "I ain't scared of nut'ing."

She looked down at him with a smirk across her face, "Are you sure? Because last time I checked Merle was a lot tougher than you, and he was certainly the better dancer. It's a shame he quit, but he still remains the best in the history of this place."

She looked around and nonchalantly picked the camera up again as her nephew grew the nerve to stand up for himself.

"Aunt Emily! That's not true!" He stuttered, "That's not true! Merle is an idiot and can't figure out the difference between his left foot and right foot! He doesn't deserve that title! He doesn't even like dancing, he says only pussy p-pansy's dance!"

I scoffed and giggled at the sudden outburst and use of language. The little boy's face and ears were red with anger. His aunt laughed a sunny laugh and spoke up again,

"Is that so? Are you gonna prove it to me? I need proof in order to believe ya, Daryl, and don't believe your brother whenever he calls ya a pansy, he's the real pansy. He's the one that gave up!"

Daryl nodded, his face still wrung up in a glare, "Yea! You're right, Aunt Emily!"

"So are you going to go out there and prove your brother wrong by dancing like a pro tonight?" She challenged him knowing all too well that she had finally convinced him.

"You bet!"

"That a boy! Now let me hear your war call!"

Daryl took a big deep breath, and when it seemed like his chest was about to burst he let out a, "ROOOOOAR!"

"What was that? I can't hear you!" His aunt continued to boost him up.

"ROOOOARRRR!" Daryl yelled even louder.

"That a boy! Now go show them what you're made of tiger and smile big for the camera!"

Daryl had a new determined look on his face, and his wide cheeky grin was back, a couple of toothless gaps here and there, but it was back, just like in the picture that lay on top of the desk. The image shifted and now there was an empty stage on screen. An announcer spoke up, "And now, Ladies and gentlemen our number 54 contestants, Daryl Dixon and Patty White!" "Whooo! Daryl! Patty!" Emily continued to cheer as the crowd and clapping settled and the music started. Daryl and Patty were a perfect combination up on stage. They dances a Samba, Salsa, Bachata remix and their hips didn't lie as they moved in sync with the rhythms. The entire time a smile was plastered across Daryl's face. He did a little forward shimmy here, a hip swivel over there, a pelvic swing and disco roll, heck the boy even danced the slap and clap in a moment of improvisation, and to top it all off, when the music ended he had a big finish as he carried little Patty up in the air and landed in a strong pose, with his left knee on the stage floor and his arms raised high in the air like a champ.

The crowd roared and cheered for them, Ms. Dixon couldn't stop cheering into the camera. The scene changed once again and this time Daryl was back in the hallway only now he had a first place trophy in his arms and a medal around his neck that read "best performer overall."

"Whatcha got there, Sweetums?" Emily asked excitedly at the grinning boy.

He held up his prize with pride and answered, "A trophy, Aunt Emily!"

"I can see that! It's so shinny! I'm really proud of ya, Daryl. Ya did a great job out there."

As Emily praised him Daryl beamed with pride. A young bulky kid in a black t-shirt that read in bold white letters 'Kiss my white ass' suddenly came into the picture and flicked Daryl in the ear,

"Yea, Daryl, you did a great job! For a pansy!"

Daryl glared at him and set his medal and trophy down on a chair before running after the older boy, "Shut up Merle!" Emily's hand appeared on screen as she picked up the trophy and medal yelling out to her nephews, "Boys! Boys! Stop fighting!" Then the screen went black for the last time and the VCR stopped and ejected the tape. I smiled to myself at the thought of Daryl dancing and shook my head.

"Having fun are you?" Suddenly a gruff voice spoke up from behind me and I squealed and jumped out of my skin as I turned to face my attacker.

"Daryl! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Daryl didn't look happy.

"Stop fooling around, the others are starting to move out." I looked at him with a tender gaze,

"Daryl, I didn't know you knew how to dance. You looked so happy in that video and your aunt seemed like such a great woman-" Daryl cut me off,

"She was. Now get moving." I blinked and smiled,

"You should really dance more often, in fact, why don't you dance right now for me?!" I cheered in excitement and Daryl growled,

"Because I don't fucking feel like it! Now are you dense in the head? I said the others want to leave! Did you forget there are walkers out there?" I sighed as I got struck with reality again.

"Alright, alight," I walked out the door, "I'm coming…"

Once I was out of sight, Daryl held the picture of him and his aunt and smiled lovingly at the memory. He pulled it out of the frame and stashed it in his pocket. He turned on his heel, shook his toosh side to side with his arms up in the air, and did a pelvic thrust before shaking the dance out of his system and jumping up like a feral cat, only to blindly shoot at the door.

"Holly Shit! First you were rushing me, and when I come back to rush you, you nearly shoot an arrow through my skull!" My heart pounded with adrenalin, "The next time you want to dance by yourself, just give me the heads up and I will not disturb you! Geeze!"

I took a breath and began to make my way out of the office only to have Daryl shove past me grumbling and growling, "Not a word to anyone or next time I won't miss your head!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Whatever you say, 'Sweetums'."

So how was that? If there is anything you disliked or liked, please feel free to review. If you are a guest to the site and don't have an account, I will still be more than pleased to see your reviews on there. Your reviews are the difference between my uploads and speed. The more that pretty little review button is pressed the more of me you will see. YOUR REVIEWS ARE MY FUEL! I am open to story ideas, requests, and character pairings. I am willing to give everything a shot! With that said and done... if you're an animal lover... REVIEW!