"And that's how we'll put our retaliation on the Mayan's," Clay explained. Jax nodded in approval, even though he really hadn't heard what was being said. He took a drag off his cigarette before he realized Tig was staring at him from across the table.
"What?"
"Are you with us, man?"
Jax nodded, "Of course."
"Well if there's no questions," Clay continued, "meeting adjourned."
He banged the gavel, releasing them from the table. Jax was one of the last ones to rise from the table, still dwelling on his thoughts. He knew he should be gearing up for the job tonight, but for some reason he just couldn't focus.
Tig poured shots on the bar, and Clay warned them not to get too hammered before tonight – they had a job to do, after all. Jax took a sweet shot of whiskey, wondering why he was so on edge today, but the calendar behind Tig caught his eye.
September 22.
He rolled his eyes. It had been six years to the day. He took another shot of the whiskey and finished his cigarette.
"What's on your mind, brother?" Opie asked as he sat on the bar next to Jax.
Jax just grinned, "Wondering when the hell you're going to trim that ridiculous beard." It was his traditional response when he was lost in thought – the first thing that always came to mind.
Opie laughed, "C'mon, what's up?"
"Do you know what today is?" he sighed.
Opie's eyes flickered up to the calendar behind the bar and then he brought his hands up to rub the bridge of his nose. For some reason, Opie always knew what Jax was thinking, and if he didn't, he could easily catch up. Of course Opie knew what today was, he had been there.
"Shit, man. How many years has it been?"
"Five. We were juniors in high school."
"Are you going to be okay tonight?" Opie asked as he put a hand on Jax's shoulder. "After the job, I mean. Donna won't mind if you stay at the house." Jax just shook his head, he would survive.
But for some reason, he couldn't forget the look in her eyes that night.
–
Missy Jordan had gotten on Opie's nerves since Kindergarten. It used to be manageable, but since Tara Knowles had moved to town, the two had become inseparable and it only made Opie more irritable. It never mattered what class they had, he always ended up sitting next to one of them, and he always ended up bitching about them to Jax afterward. They were either too smart, too smart-assed, or too pretty – always a distraction.
They hung out with a different breed of friends than Jax and Opie did – they were destined to become Men of Mayhem, Sons of Anarchy, outlaws, while Tara and Missy's crowd was going to become fine, upstanding citizens of Charming, California.
Jax had become pretty good at zoning out during Opie's rants about Tara and Missy, nodding when needed, cursing when he should, but he just really didn't care. He had only met them once and they didn't really say anything to him, so he really didn't mind them.
"So are you going to come over tonight?" Opie asked as they made their way out of Charming High School.
Jax shrugged. Piney and the rest of the Sons were going to do club business down in Arizona, and Piney had left the house in Opie's care. Opie was notorious for throwing ridiculous parties when his dad was gone, tonight would be no different.
"I don't know, Ope. Shouldn't we head to the clubhouse in case they get back early?"
Opie cocked an eyebrow at Jax, "We're not even prospects, we have no place there. But Marcie on the other hand… she's been asking about you, bro."
Jax just shrugged. Macie was pretty and all, but she was just like all the Crow-Eaters that hung around the SAMCRO clubhouse – boring.
"Just promise me you won't hook up with Olivia Cresent again tonight, Ope. She's going to do something stupid to keep you around."
Opie laughed, straddling his bike, "I promise I won't… if you show up."
"Fine, what time do you want me there?"
…
At 9:15, Jax said goodbye to Gemma and headed out the door. Opie had directed him to head to a gas station, get three bottles of whiskey, and head out to the party. It made no difference that he was only sixteen, everyone in Charming was afraid of the Sons, meaning they wouldn't refuse Opie and Jax liquor because they were afraid of Clay.
It almost bothered Jax that everyone was so afraid of him because of his parents. His father had been a forced to be reckoned with, Clay and Gemma even more so. But he was destined to follow in their footsteps, no matter how hard he tried to get away from it.
The liquor was cheap and fit in one sack… that was too big for his bike's saddlebags. Some days it was a little tedious to only have a bike instead of a car, but there was no question in what he bought the day he got his license.
As he tried to figure out which pocket to put the liquor in, he recognized Missy's white Camaro pull into the parking lot, and Tara in the shotgun seat. While the two of them hated Opie with a passion, they were always somewhat nice to Jax, so when Missy waved, he waved back. He nodded at Tara, but Tara didn't wave back. He waited till the girls got out of the car before calling to Tara.
"Too good to wave?"
She frowned, "I don't even know who you are. I don't wave at strangers."
Jax walked over to the car, extending a hand. "I'm Jax Teller."
She cocked an eyebrow at him and tucked her hand close to her chest. "Tara Knowles."
Jax tried to keep a smile on his face, it wasn't often that he was shut down by a girl.
"I guess now I can say that I've met everyone in Charming High."
Tara didn't smile, "Guess you can."
"Looks like you're destined for a party," Missy sneered, looking at the Jack Daniel's in the plastic sack.
Jax shrugged, "Ope's having a party, you two should come."
The words were out of his mouth before he realized what he was saying. What the hell would Missy and Tara do at one of Opie's ragers?
"Opie Winston?" Missy asked. "He hates us."
He couldn't invite them and then not let them come, so he took a deep breath. "He won't say shit if you walk in with me."
Tara snorted, "Sorry, we don't party with bikers or those 'Crow-eaters' in training."
But Missy's eyes lit up, "Like an actual party?" She turned to Tara, "C'mon, it could be fun."
Tara shook her head, "No. Mike and Jason would shit themselves."
Jax felt himself rolling his eyes, Jason Neilson and Mike Strager ran around with the upstanding citizens of Charming, like Daniel Hale.
"Well, I don't give a shit what Jason says. You can take the Camaro home after you drop me off."
Jax smiled, putting an arm around Missy and heading toward the bike. Even if Tara was prettier, he was fairly sure he could get Missy to come home with him, and then he could brag that he banged the captain of the cheerleading squad under the quarterback's nose. He smiled at the challenge, "You can ride with me, darlin'."
Tara put her hand on his shoulder, pulling the two of them back. "Excuse me; I'm not letting you go by yourself. God only knows what could happen to you around those people."
"Those people?" Jax snorted.
"Yeah," Tara said. "The last thing I want is her getting her ass kicked because she gets drunk."
Jax smiled – mission accomplished. "Follow me to Opie's."
A few minutes later, Jax pointed Missy to where she could park her Camaro out of the way, and Jax pulled into the driveway, the bass already pumping through his body. He smiled – Opie knew how to throw a damn party.
The girls caught up to him and Jax smiled, "Now, if you wanna be here without questions, act like you own the place." He gave each girl a bottle of whiskey and threw an arm around each shoulder.
Tara shied away from him but left his arm on her shoulder, but Missy put an arm around his waist, eager to get into the party.
To say that it was raging was an understatement. Jax wasn't sure that he had ever seen a Winston party get this out of control. There were a few people he recognized, like Olivia and Marcie, but even more that he didn't.
"JACKSON FUCKINGTELLER! Where the fuck have you been?" Opie bellowed. He was completely shit-faced hammered, and it wasn't even ten.
"I brought friends, Ope!"
"The more the merrier!" he slurred back, winking at Missy.
Opie hugged him and moved to the side, giving Jax a full view of Olivia and Marcie – neither looked happy.
"Opie, how many people are here?" Missy asked.
He smiled at Missy, "Hey, I know you. Let's take some shots." He winked at Jax and took the bottle from Missy before taking her hand and leading her to the kitchen, leaving Jax with his arm around Tara, and Marcie staring a hole through his chest. He smiled at the way he had worked out, his arm around Tara, who was easily the prettiest girl in the room.
"I feel overdressed," Tara said, looking at Marcie. For the first time, Jax noticed what each girl had on.
Tara was wearing modest short shorts and a nice looking tanktop, Missy was wearing a skirt and a lower cut v-neck teeshirt. Both girls looked nice, and could've easily been going to school as to a party. Marcie was wearing a halter top that barely covered her tits and left her midriff exposed, paired with shorts that barely covered her ass. Olivia was even worse.
Any other night, Jax would've sat between them, doing his best to take one of them home simply because of how they were dressed. But tonight, for the first time in his life, Jax was ashamed of the girls he hung out with.
Jax chuckled, leaning in to her ear so he could be heard, "Trust me when I say you look nicer." Marcie's look got even more intense and for a second Jax thought she might cross the room and say something to Tara. "Wanna go outside?"
Tara nodded, "Anything to get away from this." She turned toward the door to leave, but Jax grabbed her wrist, leading her up the stairs.
Jax, knowing his way through the Winston house, made his way up the stairs and to Piney's room as if it were his own. He opened the window on the right side that led out to the roof and climbed out, helping Tara behind him. When Jax shut the window, it was surprisingly quiet, the bass and rap music slightly muted.
"It's nice to be able to hear myself think," Tara commented as Jax opened the bottle of liquor.
Jax nodded, a little unsure of what to say. With girls like Marcie, Olivia, even girls that hung around the clubhouse, the conversation flowed smoothly, because Jax knew exactly what to say and where to put his hands to make girls like that want him.
But Tara… she was different.
She was smarter than nearly everyone in their class, kind, sweet, and…beautiful. He knew that none of his bullshit pickup lines would fly with her. Jax was almost stunned by how truly beautiful Tara Knowles was. He wondered how he hadn't seen that before.
"Do you drink?" Jax asked, offering the bottle.
Tara shook her head. "Dad's an alcoholic, so I tend to shy away from it."
Jax wanted to punch himself. He knew Tara's father, he shouldn't have asked. The silence was heavy, and Jax was eager to say or do something.
"So what do you want to do after high school?" Jax asked.
Tara's face lit up, she started talking about moving out of Charming and going to college so she could be a doctor. Jax felt himself smiling along with her as she got more and more animated. When she finally outlined her life, she smiled at Jax, "What about you?"
Jax smiled and looked down, what was there to tell? He planned on being a prospect, joining the Sons of Anarchy, and eventually becoming President of the club.
"SAMCRO is my future."
Tara narrowed her eyes at him, "You never wanted anything else?"
Jax shook his head, "Never have. Since I was five years old all I wanted was a cut and a bike. SAMCRO is all I've thought about since."
"The Sons are…barbaric. You're better than that, Jax."
"How would you know?"
Tara smirked, "I have classes with you, and Opie. You're both a lot smarter than you let on – you especially."
Jax shrugged, "I guess."
"See?" Tara asked. "There you go again. I see the way you are in class, you're really smart, you just act stupid and wear leather so you can fit in."
Jax turned to face her, stunned. No one had ever spoken to him that way, except his mom when he was in trouble. But before he could say anything else, the window flew open and Jax recognized Macie. "Jax! Come quick! It's Opie!"
"Jesus Christ." Jax stood up, grabbing Tara's hand and helping her inside the window. He ran down the steps to find Opie swinging on Jason, with Missy standing on the couch, held back by Olivia.
"Ope! What the fuck, man!"
He turned around and Jax could see the makings of a black eye.
"This motherfucker came in and saw Missy with me. And couldn't fucking handle it," Opie taunted.
Jax rolled his eyes, "Jesus Christ, man. So you're going to fight him, in your own home, with all these girls around? Take it outside, shit. Clear all these girls out."
"Party's over, motherfuckers!" Opie yelled out, taking another shot. Jax shook his head, this was going to be a short fight.
He cleared everyone out, especially Tara. For some reason, he wanted Tara far, far away from whatever was going down with Opie. He wanted to protect her from that.
He walked outside, whispering in Tara's ear that he'd take her home before anything happened. She nodded, and walked right into Mike.
"What the hell are you doing here, Tara?"
Tara looked at him, then to Jax. "I just came to a party, Mike."
He reared back, slapping her hard across the face, "Like hell you did. I told you to stay away from these motherfuckers."
But to Jax's surprise, Tara didn't back down. She raised her face closer to Mike, "Hit me like that…one, more, time."
Mike smiled, "Do you really wanna play this game with all these people watching, Tara?"
She smiled, inching closer, "Hit me again. It'll be the worst decision you make."
He smirked and raised his hand again, only to be caught midswing by Jax. "You don't wanna do that, man."
"Oh yeah? I can treat my girlfriend however the fuck I want."
Jax smiled, "Tara, why don't you go wait in the house with Missy and Olivia. They won't let anything happen to you."
"I can take care of myself," Tara said, still staring down Mike.
"Do what you're fucking told, slut," Marcie called from the front door of the house. Jax rolled his eyes. Liquor made some of the smartest girls act so damn stupid.
Tara turned on her heel and marched back to the house, "Don't call me a slut."
He saw Marcie inch closer to Tara's face, "What the hell are you going to do?"
Tara reared back and put her fist on Marcie's nose. Jax could hear the crunch and felt oddly proud of this girl for standing up for herself on both ends. And then… pain. He turned and saw Mike, with a confident look on his face.
Motherfucker just used the cat fight to cheapshot me, Jax thought. Jax grabbed his cap and turned it backward.
The fight was fuckin' on.
–
The job went without a hitch, but Jax didn't feel fully focused until they came back to the clubhouse. A few deaths, shallow graves, and drinks all around. He took a few shots, trying to find the edge to her memory. She had been gone for years, to chase her dreams. The last Jax heard, she was in Chicago, working for a hospital. She finally got the hell out of Charming, Jax thought to himself, taking another shot.
The door opened to the screams and shouts of old ladies and Crow-Eaters. Gemma kissed his cheek and walked over to Clay. And Jax was surprised to feel five month pregnant Donna's hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her, really glad that she and Opie had worked it out. Their rushed marriage after Ellie's birth had been hard on the two of them, being so young.
But once Donna found Opie, Jax found himself rolling his eyes, knowing Wendy would be making a beeline for him soon. She never could tell when he just wanted to be left the hell alone.
"Jax, baby! I'm so glad everything went okay!" Wendy said, kissing his cheek.
Jax cut his eyes at Opie, who just shook his head.
He put on his best smile, "Yeah, darlin'. I'm so glad to be back with you."