The vivid sunlight glaring through the cheap thin hotel curtains into my eyes was almost more than I could stand. It felt as though I had only been asleep mere minutes. The clock on the wall reads 5:45; my feeling was almost accurate. I didn't crawl into bed until 3:30 when Mom finally decided to pull over. It took another hour for me to get used to this rock-hard mattress enough to drift off to sleep.

My eyes are heavy with exhaustion but my brain is racing again. I sit up and watch my mom sleep. She looks almost peaceful despite her bruised and battered face. I can't be upset with her about the predicament we're in now because in all honesty I'm beyond proud of her. She finally did it. She finally left him-her abusive asshole boyfriend.

Two days ago, was my 16th birthday and it should have been amazing. A sweet 16 party is supposed to be-at least that's what I've always heard. If it were just up to Mom, she would have made it a dream come true but Tony ruined everything. He came home from work already drunk screaming at Mom for spending money on a birthday cake "for an ungrateful waste of air." I accidentally rolled my eyes-accidentally let him see it anyways-and then all hell broke loose. He slapped me across the face before Mom lunged at him knocking him away from me. I was stunned, it was the first time he had ever laid a hand on me. He had shouted obscenities at me several times but never touched me until then. His rage then turned on my mother. He hit her several times. I had never actually seen him hit her, I had seen the bruises that she would try to hide or lie about. I hit him over the head with a beer bottle rendering him unconscious. I had to do something. I was scared-afraid that night would have been her last night if I had just stood cowered behind the table.

I helped her off the floor and we threw only necessities in a bag and left before police arrived. She was afraid they would take his side-he's one of them after all. We got in our car, mom drained the bank account, and we drove until she couldn't drive anymore. We made it to California, she said we're a few miles from a town called Charming and she thinks that will be a perfect place to start over. New town. New home. New lives.

…..

Charming may be small but the diner has one of the best omelets I've ever eaten.

Mom sits back down across from me with a wide smile, "I got a job!"

"Already? Where?"

"Here," she states with a slight headshake, "I guess the owner felt sorry for me and offered me the position right on the spot. I'm glad I didn't try to cover the bruises this morning." She explains, still grinning.

"You mean you're glad I begged you to hurry so we could eat because I was starving?" I wink, "you're welcome."

She shrugs, "either way, I start tonight."

"So are we going to be looking for a place closer to town then so I'm not by myself at that creepy hotel?" The freaked-out expression on my face must have been funny because mom chuckled a little before she nodded in agreement.

"She also is going to rent us a little house a few streets over. She gave me the keys to go look at it. You ready?"

"Anything will be better than that creep-tacular motel." I cringed. When we first got to it last night, I knew it was bad but had no idea until we left for breakfast and saw what could have been an episode of COPS right out in the parking lot. Prostitution, drug deals, and even a crazy hippie looking guy waving a gun around.

"This must be it," Mom says, pulling into a driveway in front of a cream color house, "she said it's the house directly across from the mechanic."

I turn and look at the garage across the street, the sign reads TELLER-MORROW. "She did say it gets kind of loud over there at times since it's a Motorcycle Club but she promises they're good people. She says she's good friends with the owners." Mom states looking a little nervous.

"Well anything is better than being at Tony's and that motel wasn't much higher on the list. Let's see what it looks like on the inside."

"Right." Mom agrees and hurries up the steps to open the door.

It was a nice place. Subtle but nice. Hardwood floors throughout, it was already furnished-which helps since we left with only our clothes. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms. It will be nice to have my own bathroom. I haven't had that since Mom moved us into Tony's apartment two years ago.

Mom wraps her arm around me and squeezes, "this place will be perfect, Tara. I can really see us being happy here. It must be fate that brought us here, the way everything is working out so wonderfully. I get a job the same day we get into town and the owner just happens to have a place for rent? It can't be anything other than fate."

I nod. It did play out perfectly. Sooner or later the luck has to come to an end though and that's when I'm afraid hell is going to come barreling toward us.

…

It didn't take long to unpack my stuff into my new room since a few outfits is all I have. I left everything behind. My cd's, my impressive 200 book collection that took me years to build up, my picture collages with all my friends-everything is gone. Tony probably destroyed it all. I did manage to grab the picture on my dresser with Mom and Dad, and the teddy bear my daddy gave me for my birthday when I was nine, the same year he passed away. That's it, everything else is history.

A knock on the door jarred me awake. My heart is hammering against my chest so hard it feels as though it's going to rip right through it. No one knows we're here, who is knocking. My thoughts immediately flash to Tony. Could he have found us this soon? Possibly-given his access to all the data bases. We were careful though not to use credit cards or other information that could alert him to our whereabouts.

I peek out the window and it's a dark-haired woman with tight jeans and a tank top. I take a deep breath to calm myself. "Hi, can I help you?" I manage to choke out as I open the door. My heart is still in my throat, I'm anxious since no one knows me.

"Hey sweetheart," she smiles fondly at me, "my name is Gemma Teller. I own the lot across the street. Mya told me you and your mom were staying here and I just wanted to welcome you all to town."

She's from across the street. My nerves settle. "Thank you so much. I'm Tara."

"You're welcome. Listen, we're going to be having a barbeque over there and I heard your mom is working the night shift so if you're hungry; you're more than welcome to come over." I'm not sure if she saw the questions or unease flash in my eyes but she immediately continued, "I've got boys about your age and there'll be others too. I don't want to pressure you into it, so if you're interested come by around six." She gave me another kind smile and walked back across the street.

This town seems so magical, the name fits it well. Everyone seems so nice. The lady at the diner giving Mom a job and a place to live after only talking with her a few minutes and the people across the street offering a stranger a free meal. It's different, maybe even a little weird to me but it's nice. I wasn't too fond of the idea of a small town at first, I figured we could blend more easily into a bigger city but this town might not be so bad after all.

…..

The loud music blaring through speakers startled me awake. I must have dozed on the sofa. I glance at the clock, 7:45. 'Shit. I guess it's too late to go over there now. I guess I'll walk over to the diner and get something.' I slide my flip flops back on and make my way outside. The delicious barbeque aroma fills the air. There's not much that I like more than grilled hamburgers. Except for steak.

"Hey," Mrs. Teller greets me walking up the side walk, "I thought you might be hungry and a little too shy to stop by so I brought you a plate." She hands me a plate with a hamburger, hot dog, baked beans, corn on the cob, and potato salad. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I brought a little of everything."

"This is so nice of you. Thank you." I say, discreetly inhaling the scent blowing up into my face in the light breeze. "I had actually planned to come by, I just fell asleep on the sofa."

She nods, "you want to come over now and meet everyone then?"

I look at her to across the street. There's a ton of people there. Much more than I was anticipating but I don't want to seem rude after she went through the trouble of inviting me and then bringing me a plate anyways after I flaked. "Sure."

"Good," she grins and turns to lead the way, "so you like it here so far?"

"Yeah. I haven't gotten out much but everyone seems very nice, which is a change from city life."

"Charming is one of a kind," she walks us up to a group of men in leather vests, "this is my husband John." She wraps her arm around a nice-looking man with dark blonde hair. His vest had a President patch on it. "This is the girl I was telling you about that Mya's helping out. Tara, right?" She looks to me for confirmation. I nod.

"It's nice to meet you, young lady." Her husband gives me a sad but knowing look, "If you or your mom need anything, you let us know."

I nod, wondering what they know exactly. Mom's bruises on her face are a dead ringer that someone beat her up so maybe that's why everyone is being so nice.

"Oh, Donna. There you are." Mrs. Teller said to a dark-haired girl who looked to be about my age. "This is Tara. She just moved in across the street. Do you want to take her and introduce her to the boys while I go help out LuAnn in the kitchen?"

"Sure." The girl replies and motions for me to follow her. "How'd you end up in Charming?" She questions, leading me through a maze of people toward the back of the building.

"Um, well honestly, we just sort of stumbled on it. We stopped for food and my mom liked the atmosphere."

"That's cool, I guess. There's probably better places to end up but definitely a lot worse too. You should like it here."

"I do so far." We get around the building to a band of picnic tables with a group of teenagers sitting around smoking and laughing.

"Hey guys, this is Tara." She announces. "This is my boyfriend, Opie." She sits down on his lap. He's so tall, even sitting down. "That's Tommy. Juice. Wendy. Jax." She points each of them out. Wendy was draped all over Jax who I tried not to stare out too long in fear of actually drooling. I've never seen anyone who gave me butterflies just making eye contact before until now. He's easily the sexiest guy I've laid eyes on. He's tall, well built, blonde hair, but his eyes are what did it for me. His ocean-blue eyes, I feel as though I could get lost in if I stare into them too long.

"Hey guys. Sorry to intrude. Mrs. Teller wanted me to meet everyone."

"Definitely not an intrusion." The one with the a short-faded-mohawk answered. "Welcome to Charming." He's staring at me with the same expression I'm trying to keep from giving Jax.

"Thanks." I say, shyly.

"You're the girl that just moved into Mya's house, right?" Jax asked, side-stepping Wendy's grip on him earning me a glare from her.

I nod, unable to speak.

"I thought I saw you out on the porch earlier. How you like it here so far?" He continued his questioning.

'I like it even better now that I met you.' It's what I wanted to say but of course, I'm not going to so I settle for an, "I like it. It's quiet and the people are friendly." My eyes flash to Wendy who was still glaring at me. "Most of them anyways."

She rolls her eyes, "well you should probably run along back home. You met everyone. Have a good night." She snuggles up into Jax's chest.

He looks down at her and steps back again, "why are you being such a bitch tonight?"

"It's okay. She's right. I shouldn't have intruded on you all. I'm sorry."

"No," Donna and Jax say in unison, "she's just PMS'ing or something." Donna continued. "Stay. Hang out with us."

"Yeah, if SOME people don't like it they know where the exit is." Jax hissed, glaring in Wendy's direction.

"Fine. Sorry. We just don't generally invite strangers to chill, I guess she's the exception." I can see she's pissed, her nostrils are flaring but she's trying hard to reign it in.

"I guess she is." Jax growled.

I felt a surge of adrenaline flow through me, he was defending me to his girlfriend. He doesn't even know me but he's taking my side. 'Why does this excite me so much? He has a girlfriend and besides that I don't even know him.'

"You want a drink so you can eat that?" He gestured toward the plate reminding me I was holding a full plate of uneaten food.

"Oh. You don't I have to, I can get it."

"Nah, it's cool. I don't mind. What do you like?"

"Coke, I guess?"

"You got it." He smiled and practically skipped off.

"I think someone has a crush on the hot new girl." Tommy laughed, blushing a little. I don't think he meant to add that last part. At least not out loud. My face matched his, I'm not used to being referred to as 'hot' or anything similar.

"Juice crushes on all the girls. They don't have to be anything special and really don't have to be hot." Wendy snarked.

"Well, I'm definitely not hot or special so you're right again." I sigh, tired of her already. My low self-esteem has always been a battle for me and she isn't helping at all.

"Your name is Tara, right?" Jax asked. I nod, unsure of why he's asking. He steps toward me, "well Tara, in my humble opinion, I think you're beautiful. On top of that, I don't think it's something you try for. I mean, you ain't wearing makeup, or sexy clothes, or anything like that…" his words have me feeling self-conscious and really regretting my decision to wear my jeans and Metallica t-shirt, "but you don't need any of that because your beauty is natural. You're gorgeous, she knows it and is jealous because she has to wear a ton of makeup to look that good." Feeling instantly better now. 'Take that bitch.' I try to hide my smirk in Wendy's direction as an embarrassed grin.

"Wow. Jax Teller wins the award for BEST LINE TO GET IN THE NEW GIRLS PANTS ON THE FIRST DAY." Wendy slow clapped with an eye roll. Eye rolling seems to be her thing. "I think you're out of luck though, this bitch looks to be more of a stuck up square than one of us. You should stick with the sure thing, baby. You know I'm yours anytime you want me." She purred at him.

"Listen," I hiss, I'm not usually confrontational but I've had enough of her shit, "I don't know what your problem is with me, but I'm more than willing to help you figure it out. One thing for sure, keep talking shit and I'll show you how far I am from being a square."

"Is that right?" She growled and stepped toward me.

"Damn right it is."

"I think she's going to fit in here just fine." Opie laughed. "She reminds me of you." He nudges Donna.

"Well let's get to figuring it out then." Wendy clenches her fist together stepping toward me. My mouth might have gotten me into a lot of trouble. I've never even been in a fight before.

"Alright, that's enough." Jax stepped in between. "Wendy, go home. You're drunk. Sleep it off."

"Here's your drink." With all the excitement, I had forgotten all about Juice going to get a drink, and the food for that matter.

"Juice, Tommy, make sure Wendy gets home alright." Jax orders, pushing an arguing Wendy into their arms. The guys did as they were told, without question or complaint.

Opie whispers in Donna's ear and they stand up too, "it was nice to meet you, Tara. We're gonna take off, bro. Her mom's gone for the night so we have a little catching up to do." He winks and Donna giggles.

"Later." Jax replies.

"Nice to meet you guys, too." I call out.

"I'm sorry about Wendy." He says once everyone is gone. "She's not usually like that. I mean she gets territorial around me but not usually that bad."

"It's okay, I'm not sure why she was so defensive though. I would never hit on another girl's boyfriend."

He laughs, a real hearty laugh. It made me smile. "Well for one, I'm not her boyfriend she just thinks we're together because we…. well…. you know but we're not actually dating. More like friends with benefits and she knows this, she just doesn't like it. She was also drunk which magnified her jealousy when a new girl stepped into the picture. Especially one who looks like you."

I can feel my face getting hot and red again, "I see."

"All that stuff I said about you being beautiful was not a line, just so you know. I wasn't trying to 'get in your pants' like she said. I just didn't like you agreeing with her remarks about your beauty, so I wanted to throw what I think out there." I see a smirk playing on his lips, "although, I would not mind the other stuff…at all."

I laugh and elbow him gently, "I'm sure you would." I try to ignore the achy-burn in my lady business. My body responded to his words. My body had me ready to let him take the ache away, taking my virginity with it. I've never felt like that about anyone. I've never really been a wait until I'm married girl, but I've never found anyone I wanted to take it that far with either…until now. Although, I want to…at least my body does, my mind is still in control and I'm not jumping into bed with a complete stranger. I need to get out of here before the throbbing down below gets to be too much to bear, "I should get going. It's getting late."

"I'll walk you." He stands up from the picnic table and offers me his hand helping me to my feet. His hand feels a little sweaty. 'Is he as nervous as I am? Why are his hands clammy?' The thought of me making him nervous too was also thrilling.

We made it back to my porch, "I had fun hanging out with you."

"I had a good time too." I smile at him and step on my tip toes kissing his cheek lightly, "goodnight, Jax." When my lips touch his cheek, a bolt of electricity ran through my lips all the way down my body.

"Night, Tara." His voice remains calm and steady but I notice a tremble run through his body. I wonder if he felt it too.

I lay on my new bed feeling happier and more content than I have since we moved into Tony's place. Strange new feelings rushed through me. The feeling of my lips on his cheek replayed through my mind along with the memory of his delicious scent made my nether regions tingle even more. I miss my friends back in Seattle, and Wendy may have tried to ruin things for me, but I can see myself being happy here especially with the sexy new neighbor across the street.

…

"Hey baby, I'm home." I felt mom whisper in the darkness and her lips brush against my cheek. This was our routine anytime she worked the night shift, she always came in to kiss me goodnight and let me know she's home safely.

"Night mom." I mutter in the darkness before dozing back off, hopefully to pick up where my dream of Jax left off.

The sun and the voices in the kitchen pull me from my sleep, I glance at the clock 7:35. 'Who could be here this early?' I throw my pajama pants back on, I must have gotten hot sometime through the night and yanked them off.

"Oh, hey honey," Mom greeted when she noticed me stumble into the kitchen, "Mrs. Teller wanted to invite us to breakfast at her place. I accepted since we haven't gotten a chance to go shopping."

"Call me Gemma, please." Gemma smiled fondly at mom and then me. "My boys really liked meeting Tara last night. They said she fits in with their group seamlessly."

I could feel myself smiling, he was talking about me to his mother. "I'm going to go get ready. I'll be out in a few minutes."

"That's great, I'm glad she's made some new friends so soon." Mom squealed with delight.

"My Jax hasn't stopped talking about her and that's rare for him. He's usually so private about his personal life so him openly talking about a girl-especially a pretty girl-is different. She's welcome to come by anytime. You both are."

I could hear Mrs. Teller, er, Gemma talking about me and the butterflies filled my stomach again. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face either.

I scowl in the mirror, suddenly wishing I had grabbed a couple of my cuter outfits rather than grabbing all jeans. I throw on my tightest pair of jeans and my candy-apple-red tank top. I try to brush my hair into submission without much luck thanks to the hot room. I really wish the AC in this place worked. I'm trying to look as cute as possible but I'm also trying to hurry. The sooner we leave, the sooner I see Jax again.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my take on Jax and Tara. This is my first ever fanfiction. Please review and let me know if you are interested in seeing what happens next, the next chapter will be longer. I just wanted to get people's opinions on the story before I decide to continue.