SEPTEMBER 1992

The first thing Tate notices is her hair. It's unkempt and the brightest pink he's seen outside of nature. It's like a still from a movie: The wind blowing cotton candy coloured air as she stands in the shade beside the quad. She's wearing denim shorts with her Nirvana tank, talking to that punk kid Kevin and smoking a Marlboro and laughing. Tate is jealous; he doesn't know anything about her except that she's perfect he's really sure this time. All he will forever know is that she is the epitome of his pure need, and she is laughing at a joke Kevin made.

The bell rings just as he makes a move toward the pair.

"Hey, man," he greets Kevin as they pass. Tate had worked with the raven-haired boy on a project last spring, he seemed okay enough then; but now with the girl he seemed infinitely cool. And Tate knew the only way to connect with her might be through this mutual acquaintance.

"Hey," Kevin smiled slightly, not barely stopping to chat.

"Who's that?" Tate hears the girl question as they walk away.

He can hear the smirk in Kevin's expression when he speaks next, "That's Tate, kind of a loner."

It's then that her eyes turn back to look at him, two crashing oceans pulling him under to suffocate. And he knew right then, as the second bell rang and signaled his tardiness to Physics class, that he would gladly drown in those waves.

Tate inadvertently followed her for the rest of that school day; they had several classes together, including the Physics class he was tardy for earlier, and he spent most of the in-between time lurking behind her in a way that he tried to make seem casual. It worked all but once, when she turned those abysses upon him again as he walked by her locker. She stared while he passed before slamming the metal door and turning in the opposite direction.

It would be two days before he saw her again, and this would be the first time they spoke.

He spotted her in the quad smoking again, this time sitting on a bench alone. She inhaled hard on the nicotine, blowing the foggy breath back into the atmosphere. Her hair looked as dirty as her clothing and Tate smiled as he thought of all the ways he could spread her out to make her even more unclean. Her slim hips and long legs, her eyes staring through his to read his thoughts, her lips parting in a moan as – No, he interrupted his own fantasy upon noticing the curious look on her face. Her perfect mouth scrunched up as she stared at a fixed point intensely. Following her eye line, Tate smirked as he observed the object of her attention.

"It's a Spotted Towhee," he informed, sitting on the bench beside her.

"What?" she questioned as she turned her head towards his voice.

"The bird you're looking at," he pointed now. "It's called a Spotted Towhee; they're native to Southern California, you know."

"Right, and who exactly gives a fuck about the Spotted Towhee?"

"You. I mean, you were looking at it. But you'd be just about the only one who gives a fuck since they're practically taking over the state."

"Uh-huh. Well, you seem to give a fuck too, stranger."

"Oh, no. I just like birds. And its Tate, my name; except you already knew that because Kevin told you on Wednesday. See, I can ask your name because I don't know it, but you shouldn't ask questions you already know the answer too."

"Alright, sorry, Tate. I'm Freyja."

"That's a beautiful name."

"Yeah, until you realize she was a Norse goddess of death who drove a chariot led by giant cats."

"I think that just makes it more beautiful," he laughed now. At the idea of such an idea, at the idea of him sitting here talking to her, at the idea of her at all.

"Uh-huh," she nodded as the bell rang. Apparently school really was out to ruin his life. She blew out her last puff of smoke into his face as she stood, stamping down on her second cigarette of the free period. "Guess I'll see you around, Tate."

Chapter Title: Broken - Nine Inch Nails - released September 1992

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters. All content associated with American Horror Story belongs to FX, Ryan Murphy, and Brad Falchuk.