Sophia was curled up in her boyfriend's lap, head rested on his shoulder as his friends went on about a freak show that they had gone to the night before. It sounded interesting and she was leaning in, listening to Adam describing the one that they called a Lobster Boy.

"Haha, poor guy. Bet he gets all the women."

The boys all laughed, Aaron leaning forward to get a high-five and some respect for his joke. Sophia frowned and peered up at her boyfriend as he high-fived everyone. She didn't like the sound of his voice; the tone he used when he said that.

"Surely, we should respect them? I mean, they're different to us, yes, but they respect us. We've all been complaining about them but they've done nothing to us. They're not ruining the ground that they've camped on and they keep to themselves. And we're all repaying them by being horrible to them?"

"Sophia, babe, keep your views to yourself. Certain people won't like how you talk. Plus, your Dad's the head of the police force. Don't make him send them off. He will if you keep talking like that."

"Talking like what? Like I respect people for who they are, rather than what they look like?"

"Speaking of what people look like!"

Sophia and Aaron glared at each other before looking over to Jamie.

"Those two at the park gates. The Lobster Boy and that Seal one. Can't remember his stage name."

All the boys began to snicker before they stood up. Aaron shoved Sophia off his lap, rather roughly, and walked to the side to pick up stones with his friends before they all started walking towards the gates. Within a few seconds, they started chucking the stones at the performers, laughing and yelling vile stuff. Sophia stared at her boyfriend, disgusted. One of the freaks was cowering behind the other, and the other was yelling back, screaming that they weren't freaks. They genuinely looked upset and it broke Sophia's heart. Within a second, she had made her decision. She jumped up from the floor and ran forward, getting in the way of the group and the freaks.

"STOP IT AARON!"

"Or what? What are you going to do?"

"I'll tell your Mother that you've been skipping classes again!"

The stones stopped being thrown and Aaron glared at her.

"Are you actually blackmailing me?"

"Yes. Yes I am. Now stop it! They're people just like us. Just because they look different does not make them any different to us!"

The two teens stared at each other before Aaron turned, motioning for his group to follow him. Once they had left the park, Sophia hesitated before turning around. She slowly walked over to them, coughing once she was close enough to be heard by them, offering a soft smile.

"I'm really sorry about that... They have a bit of a closed-mind... The whole town does. Honestly you stopped in the wrong place... I'm Sophia."

She offered her hand to the one that had been yelling back at the boys, noticing how he seemed to stare at her hand before looking away.

"We're not freaks."

"I know that."

He looked back at her with a confused look on his face.

"Why should I trust you?"

"I just stopped them chucking stones at you, and they would have tried to beat you guys."

"Why do you hang around with them?"

"I'm dating one of them."

He snorted and looked down at the ground before raising his head to look at her.

"I'm Jimmy and this is Paul."

"It's lovely to meet you... Oh, Jimmy, you're bleeding. Is that from the stones? Please let me sort that out for you."

Sophia felt her heart drop as Jimmy didn't even seem to care about the blood that was slowly dripping down his face. He just shrugged at her proposal before sighing.

"We better get back."

"How about I come with you? I know Aaron... He and his group will more than likely be waiting to ambush you guys back on the way."

The two men shared a look before they nodded and motioned in the direction they were walking in. Silence filled the group as they padded along the path, the two men sharing looks before looking back at Sophia now and again.

"Look, number one, I can see you two. And secondly, I couldn't care less if you're 'freaks' or not. All I see is people who care about each other and keeping each other safe, hence why you're so jumpy around me. But I'm not going to hurt you. Do I really look like I could hurt you? I'm a scholar, not an athlete or a fighter. Sorry to burst your bubbles but you're not going to get beaten up by a girl. At least, not today."

Both men started laughing and Jimmy gave her a genuine smile, which Sophia returned.

"I think you guys are kind of interesting. You know you're different, yet you try your best to keep people from treating as if you're different. That's unique. I don't think I've ever met anyone who does anything like that."

Jimmy smiled a little, nodding.

"Yeah, well, I feel bad for us. People see our differences and automatically think that they're better than us. Just because we look different, doesn't mean we are different."

"I get that. I mean, I don't see you guys judging me for looking... Normal, for lack of a better word. In fact, you guys are better than those who are 'normal'. You don't judge on appearances."

Jimmy chuckled.

"Yea... I guess you're right."

The rest of the walk was in silence.

Jimmy led Sophia into the main tent, away from the other performers. He beckoned her to sit in the audience chairs before he disappeared again, coming back with a small box of medicinal objects. She smiled up at him as he sat next to her, starting to dab at the cut on his face, humming a little.

"The others might not be so accepting of you being here. They're a bit... Wary."

"And they have every right to be-"

"Who is this, Jimmy?"

The boy looked around at a woman standing in the doorway. Sophia shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"This is Sophia. She lives in the town. She stopped a group of boys beating-"

"We're closed. If she's not a freak, she's out."

"Hey, she saved me and Paul from a group of boys who were going to beat us up and she shares the same views as us! Elsa, if there's any place for her, it's here."

Jimmy was staring at Elsa, almost daring her to disagree with him. Sophia swallowed a little and tugged on his glove.

"Jimmy, maybe I should go... I mean, it is getting late."

"No, Sophia, you're fine... Is Paul alright?"

"He's fine. He was using me as a shield."

Elsa nodded and left the tent. Jimmy slowly sat back down, grinning a little lopsidedly at Sophia.

"So... You want to meet everyone?"

Sophia nodded and scrambled up, a smile on her face as Jimmy led her through to where everyone was.

Sophia was sitting next to Jimmy around a fire, smiling around at the other freaks. They had all been welcoming, especially Ethel and Desiree. Sophia was content to stay here with the troupe for as long as she could, merely staring at the flames now. Someone called Jimmy and he got up, giving Sophia a soft grin as he left, going to help Elsa with whatever she needed help with. It wasn't long before someone was tugging on Sophia's tights. She looked down and her eyes widened at the sight of a tiny woman, smiling up at her. A soft laugh escaped her lips.

"Well hi there! Who are you?"

"I am Ma Petite. And you are Miss. Sophia."

"I am Sophia; it's lovely to meet you Ma Petite."

She looked up to see Desiree motioning for Sophia to pick Ma Petite up and she did so, settling the woman on her lap.

"You're gorgeous, Ma Petite."

Sophia looked up to see Jimmy back on the outskirts of the group, talking quietly to Del. His gloves weren't on and she caught a glimpse of his hands. Three fingers, pinkie and ring fingers conjoined, middle and index fingers conjoined. Jimmy must be the Lobster Boy. Sophia was fascinated. She looked up to meet his eyes, only to see a look of horror on Jimmy's face as he realised that she had seen his hands. Someone mentioned that it was close to midnight and that they were heading to bed and Sophia looked down.

"Yea, it's getting late. I should head home. My Papa will be worried."

She set Ma Petite down and gave out hugs where asked before she stood up, brushed her shirt of ash and then headed off out of the camp, back to the town and home, where punishment surely waited.