Hello Readers!

If this story sounds familiar to you its because I wrote it on a different account under the name Lydia Irving. I stopped writing this about 2 years ago and just found it again (but of course forgot all my account info). This is my new account and the revamped story. I hope you enjoy! A little something to keep in mind, not all of the Amish facts are 100% true…it all comes from research and my own experiences visiting the Amish community.

Rose was helping her mother prepare dinner when her baby sister Rebecca dropped a glass on the floor causing a sharp ring to reverberate through the walls of their home. Rose's mother, Janine, who was usually quite patient, rolled her eyes heavenward as if asking for strength and then bent down to start picking up the shattered pieces. She hadn't said a word to Rebecca yet, who was standing there with her hands pulled in under her chin and her eyes cast downward, seeming unsure if she should fix her mistake and help her mother, or if she should hang back and stay out of the way.

Her sweet brown eyes meet Rose's and Rose gave her a small smile as she stood at the stove stirring the soup that her mother had made to warm the boys up after coming in from outside. Eventually, Rebecca knelt down and started to help her mother and Rose was left, still stirring in silence. It was usually quiet at their house now, what with her older sister Sarah married as well as her older brother Caleb. And with her father and john still out working, the house was left to Rebecca, Rose, and their mother. Rebecca, being only six didn't have as heavy a work load as her sister and mother, and so nearly everything that was in relation to the house was left to the two women.

Rose wasn't the kind of girl that slacked off in her work; she did everything to the best of her ability and she took joy in pleasing her family with what she could offer them. But despite that joy, Rose always found herself looking for more; a fact that shamed her. One day she would become part of the church, she would court a nice boy and then marry him. She looked forward to the child-filled environment that she had been raised in. But she was plagued with a deep longing in her heart for something more; something exciting outside of her safe community and the expectations of her elders.

Rose had been on rumspringa for almost a year now, the time where Amish teenagers were given a little leniency and could immerse themselves in the way of the English. She had some friends who wore some English clothes, and once when she was younger she caught her brother Caleb smoking when he was her age. It was basically the time that they had to experiment with the English way of life and when it was over they would make the decision to join the church or to live with the English. Most people had their fun and then came back to what they knew. They joined the church and eventually married. There were always a few who liked the English conveniences too much to go back to the old fashioned lifestyle the Amish community offered. To Rose, it seemed like an easy enough choice. Up until now, she hadn't even taken advantage of this time, so why would she feel conflicted about something that was so black and white for her? Everything she knew was in this community; her family, her friends, her faith. And every single one of them was wrapped up in this life. Why would she ever feel the need for anything else when this future offered her so much safety? She had an itch she needed to scratch. That was it.

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When the boys came in from the fields their cheeks, noses and ears were bright red from the cold. As they stumbled one by one into the house, each of them sighed at the feeling of warmth that washed over them; their loud sniffling echoing through the house as they tried to get rid of the moister pooling at their noses. The house was heated by a giant wood stove by a giant wood stove that was located in the living room. In the morning, when the flames had died down overnight, the house was chilly; the wood floors cold underneath their feet. But once it was filled with wood and burning, you could hardly stand to be in the room. No matter what the temperature was outside, that stove caused warm, dry heat to radiate throughout the house. But right now as the whole family; Ibrahim, Janine, John, Rose, and little Rebecca sat down for dinner the house felt safe and comfortable.

Dinner was usually a quiet affair, probably because Rose's father and brother were too busy shoveling food in their mouths the entire time. Afterwards, as Rose and her mother got up to do the clearning John sat his giant paw on her shoulder and looked up at her with his big grey eyes, the same eyes that were on their mothers face, and complimented her cooking. "That was a great meal, Rose." She flushed with pride and continued her cleaning, giving a small smile every so often when she remembered her brother's praise. Suddenly, she recalled what she was planning on doing later that night and bit back the shame that crawled up into her chest like poison.

Later that night, Rose was in her bed twitching with anticipation that made her stomach roll and heart clench. It was almost midnight and it wouldn't be long before Rose would have to get out of bed and meet Katie. Unable to stand the waiting any longer, Rose threw back the covers that were over her clothes and snuck down the stairs, flinching every time the ancient wood groaned in protest. By the time she finally reached the bottom, she was shaking with worry; never in her life had she done something like this. The very idea of doing what she was about to do had her fantasizing about climbing back up the stair and crawling into bed for the night. Her promise to her friend and her eagerness for some fun kept her at the bottom at the steps. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed hold of her coat and walked out the front door.

The air was even colder at night without the sun to warm her, and her breath came out in large foggy gusts. Her extremities were already beginning to go numb and her whole body was wracked with shivers. She couldn't wait to be in the car that Katie's friend was bringing so she could feel the blood pumping through her again.

The night was filled with the sounds of nature; something that was peaceful to her in the day but just plain scary at night. Each crunch of her boots on the light layer of snow made her feel even more alone; one pair of boots, nothing else. She had only walked for a short time before she caught sight of something bobbing in the distance. With closer examination she took a comforted sigh as she recognized Katie in her dark blue dress and black cap that all unmarried women wore over their buns. Katie must have seen Rose at the same time because her pace increased until she finally came to a stop in front of Rose, both girls panting from running through the snow. Katie spoke first, still panting from exertion, "I'm so glad I caught up with you so quickly, I was scared out of my mind in the dark!"

"Yah, me too." Rose answered. Unable to say anymore now that the panic had caught up with her once again.

Just then they heard the sound of a car as a Jeep pulled up and the door swung open to reveal a girl with blonde hair behind the wheel. She was tall and skinny, from what Rose could tell with her sitting down, and she had big green eyes and a kind smile on her face. The fact that she wasn't covered in piercings and heavy makeup like some of the English girls Rose had seen made her feel better. Katie climbed into the front seat and Rose opened the back door, sliding into a seat that was filled with shopping bags.

"Sorry about the mess back there, I brought a whole bunch of clothes so we could figure out what looked best on you." The girl said, their eyes meeting in the mirror. "I'm Lissa, by the way."

Rose gave her a smile, "Rose," she said "Thank you for bringing the clothes for me."

"No problem." She said with another smile, and Rose knew that she liked her already.

Rose started going through the bags, shocked that she would be wearing these clothes later. Everything was a rainbow of denim and soft fabric. She momentarily caught sight of a lacey piece of fabric that she lifted up higher for inspection, blushing when she realized the thin piece of material was underwear.

She was so lost in the clothes that she didn't realize the car had stopped until she heard a door open. Looking up, she saw Katie and Lissa both getting out of the car before Lissa opened the door opposite of Rose and started picking up bags. Rose got out, doing the same thing before she caught sight of the house in front of them; the sound of music drifting outside. Rose's terror came back full force as she was ushered into the back of the car that was now bigger that the seats had been folded down. She climbed into the back as Lissa started throwing things at her. When she was done, she ended up wearing a lacey black bra and panties, stretchy black pants made out of leather (lots of wiggling was required to get them on) and a baggy white top that bared her shoulder and was covered in rips. Lissa had also come equipped with a little bag filled with cosmetics. Taking Rose by the face, she quickly became applying some of it to her lips and eyes. The result when Rose looked in the mirror was strange. She looked little like the clean-faced young girl that she really was. Instead, she looked like a woman. Glossy lips and smoky eyes did a lot for her features, and Rose a little taken aback by how much she liked the way her face looked in the makeup. It had made everything good about herself stand out.

While the makeup intrigued Rose, she wasn't familiar with English clothes and she couldn't judge how she looked. She knew that she felt very exposed in the body-hugging pants and the tattered shirt that was exposing more skin than she was used to. She shivered in the cool air. "Isnt there anything warmer in there?" she asked Lissa, teeth chattering.

"Not really, you'll be inside the whole time anyway, so its not like it matters." She gave an indifferent shrug and started picking out clothes for Katie. Rose was less worried about the clothes and more worried about the amount of flesh it exposed. She had never been in something so…tiny. She was used to the shapeless dresses that she wore every day.

When they finally went to walk into the house, Lissa was in a dress that didn't leave much to the imagination and Katie was dressed a little more modestly in jeans that looked like they were painted on her skin. In their community, Katie was a bit awkward with her height, towering over some of the boys and looking gangly in the dressed. But in the jeans she was wearing, she looked like the models seem on advertisements with her long legs and skinny frame. Rose had always been curvier; and she had to admit she felt good in the pants that were hugging her legs and the shirt that was tighter against her breasts. She felt a bit promiscuous and silly, but confident in her curves nonetheless.

"Wow, Rose. You look fantastic, both of you guys do! You are going to have guys drooling in there". Lissa laughed and Rose balked, boys. She didn't even think of that! Rose had no clue how to deal with the opposite sex; she had always been one to shy away from any male attention. Rose scolded herself, you spent half your life dreaming about your wedding, how could you not factor in the part where you have to meet boys?

Of course she didn't plan of courting any of these boys, and it wasn't like any of them would even look twice at her if they knew she was Plain. Just because she was going to a party didn't mean that she had to impress any men. She was going for the experience; she could sit in the corner and watch if she was uncomfortable. She was doing this to get rid of the thirst she had been having for an adventure. And then she would go home and forget all about it.

Taking a deep breath, she started forward with Lissa and Katie by her side, this was her time to be a little daring, to have some fun, to get out there and enjoy the years before she would take her oath and get married. This was her time to be free, and she was going to take advantage of it.

I hope all of you enjoyed! It makes me really happy to be writing this story again! Please review!

xoxo

Lydia