A/N: I had this posted as a drabble on AO3, but it somewhat ties into this story, so I've decided to post it as an intermission of sorts here. The mistake in the comics, where Sherry was referred to as Diane, was just that- a simple mistake. But, me being me, I started headcanoning and came up with this little explanation for it, which will come into play in the next chapter of the main story.

"Changing your name isn't going to help," said Nina, rolling her eyes. "Everyone's still gonna know it's you, and everyone is still gonna look at you and me the same way."

"It's worse with me and you know it," Sherry replied. "After what I did to...you know. And I know it really won't change anything but...I'd feel better to have a little change in my life, and it's not that big anyway. Diane is my middle name."

~X~

She knew, when Negan left, that there was a chance she wouldn't see him again, though she had hoped that wouldn't be the case. He had given her and the other girls a much better life than they would have been able to have otherwise. A part of her did love him, even if it was nothing compared to what she had felt- what she still felt- for Dwight. She was sad to learn of his defeat, but knew it was better for the communities at large. Still, she hadn't known where to go after that. Amber had disappeared not long before, running off to be with the one she really wanted, but Sherry knew that she couldn't do something like that, not anymore. Too much time had passed since she had ultimately chosen Negan over Dwight; he couldn't forgive her, and she knew that he wouldn't. How could she make him understand that she had been stupid and scared and had thought she was doing what was best by leaving him all over again? He hated her, and she couldn't blame him for that.

Still, she missed him, and still, it killed her to think about him, and with Negan out of the picture for good, she wished that she could go back to him and that they could pretend it never happened, but even if he would have her, she couldn't. There was too much guilt over what she had done to him, and she couldn't even look at him without being reminded of it all. No matter how much she missed him, no matter how much she loved him, she couldn't be with Dwight again.

She didn't know what made Alec take an interest in her, considering the way she, Nina, Cindy, and Eileen were treated now that Negan was not there to look after them. Perhaps he just saw her as a prize, wanted to be able to say that he'd claimed one of Negan's ex-wives. She didn't really care either way; he was nice enough to her face and he helped her get back on her feet, and that was all that really mattered.

~X~

"Whatever you say, Diane," Nina said, shaking her head. She had known Nina the longest, and they were still friends after all this. "Boy, you think you get bad looks, you should see poor Cindy. Of course, he girl's just as clueless as ever."

"Cindy? What about her?" Cindy had always been a little off, but she was nice; Sherry wondered what made her be the target of so much negative attention.

"You didn't hear? She hopped from one leader to the next, and now she's shacking up with Dwight." For just a moment, Nina froze, as if she realized who she was talking to and wondered if she should have thought before she spoke. "Sorry, I didn't mean to...I mean, since you're with Alec, I forgot about..."

"No, no," Sherry lied. "It's fine. Me and Dwight are ancient history, it doesn't matter. If he wants to fuck Cindy, that's his business." Keeping the bitterness out of her voice was almost impossible.

~X~

She'd always hated her name. To her, Sheryl sounded like a grandma name, and Diane wasn't much better. It had never occurred to her to shorten her first name, and it was Dwight who started calling her Sherry first. It was shorter and easier and his way of showing affection, and then it stuck. She had gone by it for so long that she didn't know why she had ever been a "Sheryl" before.

Everyone called her Sherry and it was easy to forget that it had been something special between her and Dwight once. It wasn't until the very first time she slept with Negan that it sounded wrong in the voice of another man, but it was too late to think about that, and she got used to it eventually. He wasn't so bad, after all, and part of her grew to love him.

But with Alec, it felt all wrong and the was no getting used to it. She couldn't be a Sherry with him, and she didn't want to be a Sherry with anyone else anymore. Things were over with Dwight and it was time to stop hanging on to the remains of their relationship. She couldn't get rid of the past by changing her name, but going by Diane might make things a little bit easier on her.

~X~

"So you're really serious about the change?" asked Nina, just before they were about to part ways.

"I just need something fresh," she replied. "New life, new me, and all that. I'm hoping to reinvent myself."

"If you say so. I hope it works out for you, Diane."

"I hope so too," replied Diane.

A/N: I have posted Cindy's backstory thing, where she meets Eileen. It's on here under the title "invitation".