Yes, I got the title and the name of my OC from a country song, but I completely forgot who sings it. Dixie's character, however, is mine. Just a heads up, this might as well be a Les Mis crossover, because there are gonna be so many references. I kinda combined Gene Wilder's Wonka with Johnny Depp's Wonka, so that they're two sides of the same coin, and the children's ages range from 11 to 18, the oldest being Henry Salt. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Hobey-ho, let's go!

"Dixie! Dixie, look! I found the third Golden Ticket!" Dixie Beauregard looked up at her younger sister, who was jumping up and down, and waving around a genuine Willy Wonka Golden Ticket.

"What? THAT'S AMAZING! You're gonna get a tour of Wonka's factory!"

"We both are! It says I can take someone else with me, and I choose you!" At this, Dixie got up and started jumping up and down alongside her sister.

"Thank you so much, Violet!" she said, wrapping the younger girl in a huge bear hug. "You are the BEST little sister a girl can have!" Over the next two weeks, the sisters watched the news intently to find out who the other ticket winners were. They already knew that a German boy named Augustus and a spoiled little British girl were going, and the next night, they found out that a handsome seventeen-year-old from Arizona had found the fourth ticket. Unfortunately, it looked like the cowboy couldn't even take his eyes of off the TV long enough for a full interview. Violet rolled her eyes.

"What a loser," she sneered. Dixie, on the other hand, couldn't take her eyes off the boy. His dark, messy hair was covered by a cowboy hat that shaded his bright green eyes. Those eyes...they were filled with such mischief that she instantly knew he was just acting like a pain to get a reaction from the reporters, maybe even to get the cameras out of his face. He was tall and slim, but still a bit muscular. The white collared shirt that he wore wasn't completely buttoned, so it showed off the cross pendant around his neck. He also had a brown leather vest that matched his hat and cowboy boots, and faded blue-jeans. "Dixie? Hellooooo, Earth to Dixie! If I didn't know you better, I'd say you have a crush on Teavee!"

"W-what?! No I don't!" the elder Beauregard blushed despite her denial.

"OOOHHH! Mike and Dixie, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Shut up, Vi! I don't have time for romance! I've got too much homework, and I'm busy with the swim team, not to mention my job...!"

"That doesn't mean you can't have a crush~"

"I do NOT have a crush!"

"Sure you don't," Violet said, rolling her eyes and smirking. Flustered, Dixie grabbed her favorite red coat and went outside for a walk in the cool October air, in order to clear her head. The wind kept blowing her shoulder-length, wavy, blond hair in her face, so after a few minutes, she stopped to put it in a low ponytail. When she next looked up, she saw a creepy-looking man approach her. She backed away, but he still kept coming.

"What do you want?" she asked, trying not to sound as scared as she felt.

"Your help," the strange man replied. "Willy Wonka has developed a new candy that will never get smaller, no matter how long you hold it in your mouth. It is called the Everlasting Gobstopper. I want you to get a hold of one of these revolutionary new candies and bring it to me so I can use it to take down Wonka, once and for all."

"What? No!"

"Mr. Wonka is a very twisted man, Miss Beauregard. He treats his workers like slaves, and hardly pays them at all. His factory is full of torture devices. I swear to you that when you, your sister, and every one of those other children goes on that tour, only one of you will come back out alive!"

"Yeah, right. Wonka wouldn't kill off four kids, five if you count me. I don't believe a word you're saying, and I won't help you by betraying my sister." With that, she turned on her heel and started to walk away.

"Ah, but young Violet has already agreed to help me."

"WHAT?!" Dixie turned back to find out whether the strange man was telling the truth, but he had already disappeared. "No. There's no way Violet's that stupid. She probably never even met that man!" Shaken up by her encounter, she returned home.

***THE HEART OF DIXIE***

The day came when all of the children were to show up from the tour, and Dixie was more than ready to go. She already was dressed in a white blouse, black skinny jeans and boots, and was shrugging into her red coat when she walked into Violet's room to wake her up. "C'mon, Vi! We're gonna be late!" Violet walked out of her bathroom in a blue tracksuit.

"What? I'm ready."

"Alright, then get in the car. Mom said I can drive us there." Dixie grabbed her keys and rushed her sister out the door. When they arrived at the gates to the factory, they had to push past a crowd of reporters. "Excuse me, sorry, comin' through...!" They finally made it to the front, and stood beside Mike Teavee and his mother, who looked relieved to see that there was another teenager on the tour. Mike himself seemed to be checking Dixie out. She just managed to keep enough control that she didn't blush. Soon, the last child, Charlie Bucket, arrived with his grandpa, and they all waited anxiously for the candyman to make his appearance. Dixie could still feel Mike's eyes on her, almost as if they were boring into her very soul, when an older gentleman with curly, strawberry-blond hair and twinkling blue eyes came hobbling out of the factory, leaning on a very ornate cane for support. She could hear the girl called Veruca scoff in impatience that the old man was taking entirely too long, which made her roll her eyes. Just then, the man seemed to abandon his cane, and fell flat on his face. However, to everyone's amazement, he turned the fall into a front-flip and landed nimbly on his feet before coming to unlock the gates.

"Hello, children, and welcome to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory! I do hope you enjoyed the show," he said, removing his top hat and bowing deeply. He then turned his attention to those that accompanied the ticket-winners. "Ah, you must be their p-pa..." He trailed off, unable to finish the word.

"Parents?" Mrs. Teavee finished for him.

"Ah, yes."

"Actually, I'm Charlie's grandpa Joe," the old man corrected.

"I'm Veruca's older brother," the tall, dark-haired man behind the little British girl said with a slightly deep voice.

"And I'm Violet's sister."

"Oh, yay, another child to be responsible for..."

"I'm not a child! I'm seventeen!" Dixie couldn't help but feel insulted by his comment.

"Yeah, I'm the same age," Mike added. "I ain't no child!"

"Okay," the man sighed. "We might as well get the introductions over with. I am your gracious host, Willy Wonka."

"Pleased to meet you, Herr Wonka. I am Augustus Gloop, and this is my mother." Both Gloops held their hands out to shake, and Wonka reluctantly accepted.

"I'm Veruca Salt," the little dark-haired girl said. Her brother introduced himself as Henry Salt. Then it was the sisters' turn.

"I'm Violet Beauregard, world champion gum chewer!" the younger sister boasted in between chomps. Wonka looked at her disdainfully then turned to Dixie. Actually, it was more like he glared right into her eyes, which made her instinctively put her guard up.

"Dixie Beauregard, sir," she said coolly. He glared at her for a second more, then moved on to Mike and his mother, and finally Charlie and Grandpa Joe. For some reason, all they got was a huge grin. Finally, he led them all into the factory.

"Way to win a staring contest." Dixie turned to see Mike grinning at her, green eyes twinkling. "You're Dixie, right?"

"Yeah. You're Mike Teavee. What do you mean, staring contest?"

"You and Wonka. Man alive, he was givin' you the stink eye! I really thought you would cave after five seconds, but you didn't." The blonde rolled her eyes and went to catch up with her sister, but he followed. "Hey, don't be like that. I was only payin' you a compliment for stickin' it to Wonka. That guy gives me the creeps."

"Whatever." Still, Dixie couldn't help but agree with the cowboy. There was something in Wonka's eyes that suggested he wasn't quite as kind and innocent as he seemed. "Well, since I can't seem to get you to stop following me, we might as well make small talk," she said, waiting for Mike to catch up.

"Now that's what I like to hear, Angel Face," Mike replied with a grin.

"Angel Face...?"

"Yeah. You got those gorgeous blue eyes, like an angel."

"Wonka's eyes are blue, too, you know..." Dixie blushed lightly, causing Mike to chuckle. "And who ever said that an angel's eyes had to be blue? They could always be green or brown...Ugh, just quit flirting with me!" Face flushed with anger and embarrassment, she stalked off to join the rest of the group, with Mike hot on her heels. Wonka saw this as an opportunity to crack a joke.

"Ah, young love. Is it not disgusting...ly cute?" he added the last part after he got strange looks from the group. "Anyway, the first room I want to show you is the chocolate room." Dixie had hardly noticed it before, but the corridor was slowly getting smaller the further they walked. The door he led everyone to was too small for even a baby to fit through!

"That's impossible! None of us can get through that!" Veruca's brother exclaimed.

"Oh, ye of little faith." With that, Wonka punched in a code on the tiny keypad, and a much larger door opened out into a huge meadow that was cut in half by a muddy river. "Almost everything you see in here is eatable, because it is made out of candy. Even the grass and rocks!" Before he had even finished his sentence, everyone under the age of sixteen was tearing around the place and eating everything they could get their teeth into. Even Violet had stuck her gum behind her ear and was devouring part of a candy flower.

Mike was just staring at the brown river and waterfall with disgust. "Dude, what's wrong with your water system? The river's all muddy."

"Oh, that's not mud; it's chocolate."

"What?"

"Do I seriously have to spell it out for you? C-H-O-"

"I know how to spell chocolate. I'm not an idiot! I just find it hard to believe that a grown man literally has a river of chocolate running through his factory!"

"That's how I mix all of it. No one else in the world mixes their chocolate by waterfall!" Wonka said gleefully, making both Mike and Dixie roll their eyes.

"Augustus, no! Get away from there!" They all turned to see the German boy kneeling by the river and gorging himself on chocolate. Wonka looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"No, STOP! My chocolate must never be touched by human hands until it is ready to be eaten!"

"Get back, Augustus! You're going to fall in!" As if on cue, that is exactly what the boy did, making the chocolatier groan in despair.

"All of that marvelous chocolate, RUINED!" Dixie glared at him, watching the boy struggle in the river, then took off her clothes, revealing her red one-piece swim suit, and prepared to dive in after him. "Not you, too! One human's filth is enough! I don't need-"

"Who cares about your damn chocolate when a boy's life is at stake?!" she roared, and dove flawlessly into the river to rescue Augustus. Everyone watched in stunned silence as the blonde put all of her lifeguarding experience to use, swimming over to the boy and dragging him against the current over to the bank. Mike Teavee and Henry Salt helped them climb out just in time to see a large pipe dip into the chocolate and start sucking it up. "You okay, Augustus?" she asked.

"Ja, thanks to you! How did you do that, anyway?"

"I'm captain of my school's swim team, and a lifeguard at the community pool." Wonka seemed to scowl at her as she got up, grabbed her clothes, and walked past him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get cleaned up. Would you care to show me the bathroom, Mr. Wonka?"

"Same for me," Augustus added, following her.

"Of course," the candyman said, trying to keep his cool. "Right this way." He told the others to wait, and escorted Dixie and Augustus to the nearest bathrooms. He was forced to wait outside while the two of them got cleaned up and changed. Dixie was the first one out, and received the most menacing glare she had ever seen. "That pig was just lucky. If you'd been a few seconds later, he would've been sucked up into the pipes and sent to the fudge room."

"It's a good thing I wasn't to much of a coward to take action, then," she growled back, pulling her damp hair into a ponytail just as Augustus came out of the boys' bathroom. "Well, shall we go back, then?" Wonka nodded, and led them back to the chocolate room. As soon as they made their entrance, Violet ran over and hugged her sister tightly. Augustus received the same from his mother.

"Dixie, that was the most amazing thing I've ever seen! You totally saved his life!"

"Uh, thanks, Vi..." Dixie said sheepishly, blushing at all the attention.

"She is right! How can we ever repay you?"

"Y-you don't have to, really. Just stay outta trouble, 'kay, Gus?"

"Ja, I'll try," he replied with a smile. They went to rejoin the group, along with Violet. She watched them happily, but frowned when she noticed that someone was missing.

"That was pretty crazy, Angel Face," a familiar southern voice said behind her. She whirled around to see a grinning Mike Teavee. "Not many people would dive into a chocolate river to save some fat kid."

"He's not 'some fat kid,' and I didn't want him to drown," Dixie snapped.

"Hey, that was supposed to be another compliment! Seriously, though, you were incredible."

"Thanks, I guess..." she replied shyly. "You were right about Wonka, by the way. He's a total creep. I...I think he actually wanted Augustus to get sucked into that pipe."

"What?"

"He pretty much told me that when I got done changing."

"Dang. I knew the guy had to be nuts, but I didn't peg him as a murderer!"

"Keep your voice down..!"

"Sorry," he whispered. "So, what do we do about it?"

"Keep our eyes peeled, and don't fall into his traps. Try to protect the others from him, if we can. I think he's going to try again with someone else, so we've got to be ready when he does."

"Right. Sounds like a plan, Angel Face."

"Please, stop calling me that. My name is Dixie."

"I know. I just call 'em like I see 'em," he said with a charming smirk that made Dixie blush. Suddenly, a brightly colored boat pulled up to the bank of the chocolate river. It was being rowed by several small, orange people.

"What are those?!"

"Ah, those are my workers, the Oompa-Loompas. I rescued them from Loompa Land a few years ago," Wonka said proudly. "And they're here with our ride. All aboard!" Everyone climbed aboard the magnificent boat and sat down. Mike and Violet both made sure to sit next to Dixie. "Hold on tightly, children. We wouldn't want everyone to fall overboard, now would we?"

"Yeah, right," Mike muttered under his breath.

"You know, you really shouldn't mumble. It's not polite." Mike glared at Wonka.

"That wasn't really meant for your ears, so butt out."

"Ooh, were you confessing your love to Dixie?" the chocolatier cooed. Dixie's and Mike's faces both immediately turned red, causing Violet and Veruca to laugh hysterically. Even Charlie let out a giggle when he saw them. "Now, if we're all done with the gigglefest, let's move on, shall we? Onward!" At his command, the Oompa-Loompas propelled the boat into an extremely dark tunnel. Dixie stiffened slightly in fear as they began to go faster and faster. Then the tunnel was filled with horrific images flashing rapidly, making her eyes cross, and she screamed and closed her eyes.

"Dixie? Hey, what's wrong?" Mike asked, alarmed. She just shook her head and refused to open her eyes.

"It's the flashing. It drives her nuts 'cause she has Asperger's Syndrome."

"Is that a problem with her eyes?"

"No, her brain. Asperger's is on the very high-functioning end of the Autism spectrum, so she has some social trouble, and has a though time concentrating. She also has extremely mild OCD, mainly with even numbers. Too much visual stimulus makes her eyes go cross, and she hates it. That's why we don't use flash photography, and try to stay away from strobe lights. This is like a strobe on steroids. She's in her own personal hell, right now..."

"I'm right here, Vi! I can hear you!"

"Ssshhh, it's alright, Dixie. It'll be over, soon." Suddenly, she felt strong, comforting arms around her, and Mike's voice floated down to her ears in a quiet murmur. "You're okay, I promise." Feeling safer, she leaned into his chest and let him hold her. She also felt Violet's tiny hand patting her shoulder, and calmed down even more.

Okay, if y'all have any questions about Dixie's condition feel free to ask me. I have Asperger's Syndrome, like she does, and I would be happy to tell you about my experiences with it. I know that it is not a very well-known condition, but it is very real, and just because someone has it doesn't mean they're stupid. If you have Asperger's or Autism, and are being bullied because of it, please know that I am open to talk because I've been there. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first part of the story, and I'll have more coming soon!