Winners for last week's poll are up on the DeGrassi Saviors website and new character polls are up. This week it's Adam, Alli and Paige. Be sure and get your votes in the poll will stay up for one week.

Now onto tonight's shot:

Legal: I own nothing but the idea.

Important things to know before reading~

*First of all this dedicated to spikelouver19 who requested it

*this story is 100% A/U

*Clare is Owen's younger sister, she is Clare Milligan and none of the other Edwards family exists

*Also Tristan does not exist, Owen and Clare are the only two children in the Milligan family

*And well the rest is in the shot so enjoy

Love on the Open Road

(CLARE)

I watch the trees zoom by, tilting my head up to look at the blue sky through the tinted face shield on my motorcycle helmet. I lean back on the bike so I don't have to hold onto Dozer's waist. Riding on the back of a motorcycle is better than riding in one of the two side cars, the person in front gets all the dust and bugs in their face. I probably wouldn't care if Owen let me have my own bike but he won't.

Owen is my older brother, he just turned 19 and I am a little less than five months away from my 17th birthday. Owen and my dad never got along too well and one day Owen just left. He was 17 at the time and old enough to move out on his own, he stayed in school long enough to graduate but just after graduating he left Toronto. A few weeks later I got a letter from Owen saying he was part of a biker gang called The Leather Tigers. The Leather Tigers are not one of the outlaw biker gangs you sometimes hear about that sell drugs and abduct women. No The Leather Tigers are just a group of young men who like to ride and ramble through the country. Not that the guys in the gang are angels, most of them have records, several have spent time in prison and many of the members will steal anything not nailed down if given the chance. They don't abduct or rape women, they don't sell or take drugs and they don't have rival biker gangs that they are enemies with. As Owen put it in his letter to me The Leather Tigers prowl every backroad and go where they please. I suppose after living under dad's strict rules the appeal of the open road and very few rules was appealing.

It wasn't very appealing to me, at the time, but I was happy Owen was happy, especially when he wrote me again and said he was dating a really great girl that he really liked. His e-mail to me was nearly four pages long raving about Bianca and how he already felt like he was in love with her. Owen was happy and I was enjoying my freshman year of high school and my first boyfriend. I was getting ready to enjoy summer with my boyfriend and then my parents were killed. They were coming home from a friend's party and my dad had had too much to drink, he crashed head on into another car and both my parents were killed instantly. Since Owen was 18 he was now my legal guardian. As much as riding through the country on a motorcycle didn't appeal to me I couldn't have stayed at home either. The driver of the other car was also killed, reporters and cops were constantly trying to talk to me. People were accusing my dad of all sorts of things. My only other relative was an ailing grandmother who lived in an assisted living facility.

Owen showed up signed the papers that he was now my guardian and the rest of the gang came that night. I left with them on the back of Owen's bike and we've never looked back. Bianca was my first friend, besides my brother, in the gang and now she's my best friend. She's 18 and she's really nice but has a really sad story of abuse and neglect growing up. I've been with them over a year now and I've become like everyone's pet, well everyone but Owen and Bianca. I'm the youngest of course although none of them are over 25, there's 14 members including three girls and then there's me. I wear the jacket, girl's jackets say Leather Tigress, but I'm not really a member of the gang it's mostly so that when we stop people know I'm with the gang and don't try anything. Not that it always hinders them from trying but the guys in the gang do.

The bikes turn off the road to a roadside motel with a bar next to it, you'd be surprised how many backroads motels are next to bars. They know who they're clientele is going to be obviously. These places are always full of biker gangs and the like. We don't have any enemies but a lot of them do and I've seen fights erupt and even people killed. Usually there isn't more than a drunken brawl that ends after a few punches if there's anything.

"We'll stay here tonight, let's get something to eat," Fitz says getting off his bike.

"Good I'm starving," Owen comments getting off his bike then he comes over and helps me off of Dozer's bike. I take off my helmet setting it on the back of the bike, running my fingers through my curls and following Fitz into the bar. I'm always too young to be in these places but as I walk in surrounded by other bikers, and very few of these establishments are even operating legally, no one ever says anything. When I walk in I get whistled at, Fitz turns around gives the guy a warning look before taking my hand and pulling me with him to a table.

Fitz is the leader of the gang, how exactly he became leader is an issue of some contention as I've heard at least half a dozen different stories. He's always been nice to me, protective too but he seems to be naturally protective of everyone, at least everyone in his circle. Just like everyone else in the gang he sees me as a kid, their pet and nothing more. At first it didn't bother me but the longer I was with the gang I began to fall in love with him. It didn't happen overnight, it was something that developed over months of riding with them and getting to know Fitz as more than the man in the leather jacket at the head of the pack. I have the worst kind of crush but he barely looks at me and while I'd ridden on the back of just about everyone's bike I'd never been on the back of his, I'd never seen anyone on the back of his bike. I had seen him with many different women though; in several places we stopped he'd take them back to his room, have sex and thank them for a good time. It's not like he had a girl every place we stopped but there were plenty of them and just knowing it with the way I feel about him is painful.

"Three pitchers of beer," Fitz calls over to the bartender and then looks at me, "and a coke."

Owen sits on the other side of me with Bianca on his lap; everyone else comes in sitting at our table or just going straight to the bar. We order food, typical bar food burgers, fries, onion rings and such. Owen chows down a burger and two glasses of beer, Bianca eats about the same and then they leave to go to the motel and get a room. Owen will check me in as well and have them keep my key at the desk since Owen and Bianca are going to have sex and not be back in the bar tonight, he knows I'll be watched though.

Shortly after they leave and Fitz is done eating he gets up and hits on a woman that's at the bar. A woman who looks exactly the opposite of me, tall with legs that go to her neck, long blonde hair, and thin. She's wearing spiked heels, skinny jeans and a loose black off the shoulder tee, the kind with intentional cuts in it so you can see her red bra underneath. I don't want to watch the guy I've got a mad crush on hit on someone else so I get up and go to the pool tables. I know the rest of the gang either has their eyes on me or will check up on me, I also know how to handle myself after a year of this life.

"Can I play winner?" I ask two guys at a pool table playing by themselves as none of the other tables are empty and everyone else does not look like someone I want to approach.

"That'll be me just as soon as I make this shot," says one of them. He's lanky with short red hair. The other man is a couple inches shorter and more stout but muscular with dark blonde hair.

"Looks like it will be me," the shorter one says when the first one misses his shot. The shorter one makes his shot and sinks the last of his balls. "I win, I'm Ric and that's Steve," he tells me.

"Clare," I nod taking the pool cue from Steve.

"You look a little young," Steve comments.

"Looks can be deceiving," I reply.

"How about we play for money, you do have money don't you or do you have to beg for some from your man?" Ric questions.

"I have money and I don't beg anyone for anything," I respond and then I feel Steve try to move behind me. "Move back and keep your hands to yourself or I'll break this pool cue off in your ass," I tell him and he moves away. Like I said I know how to handle myself now.

"Okay you can break and let's say five dollars a ball this game?" Ric proposes as he sets the balls again.

"Sure five dollars sounds good," I reply getting into position. I take a moment to set up my shot and do some calculations in my head. Then I break and sink three striped balls which makes me stripes, I'm able to sink three more on my next shot, then my last ball and then the eight ball so I win the game without Ric even taking a shot. I may not have been to school in the last year but I've been keeping up through books and the internet, not to mention things like pool which is an excellent way of honing math skills, and like today earning a little money. "I win, pay up," I demand extending my hand.

"No way I didn't even get a shot," he says.

"You're the one that wanted to play for money," I remind him.

"Well I'm not paying a kid you cheated somehow," he replies and I hear a chair moving which means one of the gang is coming over.

"Problem Clare?" Dozer asks. Dozer is so named because he resembles a bulldozer. He's big, very big and also about as bright as a pile of mud but he's very intimidating just by his size and no one wants to mess with him.

"No there's no problem just going to pay the girl her money," Ric replies and hands me a wad of cash.

I stuff it in my jeans pocket and walk back to the table with Dozer. I look around the bar and don't see Fitz, I'm sure he's gone to his room with that woman. I drink another coke and then play darts. Most of the gang is either quite drunk, back at the hotel or on their way to quite drunk and flirting with women. Ric and Steve are watching me but they never come near me. After an hour of playing darts I'm getting bored. I throw my last dart and turn around to go to the motel but I bump into Steve and he's holding a full mug of beer which then spills on me as I bump into him.

"Sorry, they have a laundry room back at the motel," he tells me.

"It's fine I was about to go there anyway," I reply. I walk quickly out of the bar, grab a clean shirt and my pajama shorts from the luggage compartment on Owen's bike and then go to the motel and up to the front desk. We've been to so many of these backwoods roadside motels and every person at the front desk looks the same, I swear they're all from one family. "My brother checked in a while ago he got me a room," I tell the guy.

"Milligan right? Here room fourteen around back, the laundry room is behind the office," he says giving me a key and eyeing my soiled t-shirt.

I go up to my room and change into the clean clothes then go down to the laundry room. It's pretty standard, a couple washing machines, a couple dryers and a change machine. As soon as I've got my laundry in I go back to my room to watch bad TV until the laundry is done. As soon as I unlock the door and I'm pushed into the room, I'm pushed with enough force that I stumble to the bed but I manage to turn and bounce back kicking my attacker. It's Steve and Ric not so surprisingly and I know exactly what they intend to do.

"Get out!" I demand.

"You haven't earned that money yet," Steve replies advancing toward me. I stand and try to run to the washroom or out of the room but Ric grabs me. He grips my shirt and is trying to get it off but I'm fighting. I scratch him with my nails and kick again, when he can't take the shirt off over my head he starts to rip it.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

(FITZ)

"You were great are you sticking around?" Ann questions dragging her finger over my chest when I walk her out of my motel room after sleeping with her.

"Not in the habit of s…"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Clare screams, my heart is racing because I know she's in trouble and I run into the room next door where her scream came from.

She's being attacked by two men; one is ripping her shirt while the other seems to be recovering from a kick she gave him. I run in grabbing the one with his dirty hands on her shirt, I grab his wrist twisting and then hit his elbow so he's forced to let her go. I twist his arm forcing him down to his knees and I kick his side as hard as I can, I hear a cracking sound so I'm sure I cracked a couple of ribs. I turn around looking at the other guy, he's just getting up but before he can I punch him, hard enough to knock him out. I take Clare's hand and bring her into my room shutting the door and locking it with the deadbolt and the chain. Ann is still standing outside but I assume she leaves or she will soon anyway.

"Are you okay?" I ask Clare and she nods. "How the hell did they get into your room?"

"I was coming back from the laundry room and they followed me in," she replies a little timidly.

"You should know better than to go around these places alone you take one of us, you know what these guys are like Clare," I scold her.

"Sorry," she apologizes meekly.

"Is there anything in your room?"

"No but my clothes are still in the laundry room," she replies.

"You'll sleep in here in case they try to come back later. Get to bed we leave before dawn," I command.

Clare nods and gets into bed; I turn off the light and get into the bed turning my back to Clare so she does the same to me. I set an alarm for four before going to sleep; when it goes off I get up and take the key going out of the room. I know Owen has the room on the other side of the one he got for Clare because that's how he always does it.

"Owen, B get up," I call banging on the door.

"It's fucking early Fitz," Owen grumbles answering the door in boxers. I slept in only jeans as that's what I had on when I heard Clare scream.

"Yeah and I say we're leaving early, Clare's in my room she needs some cloths a couple of guys tried to attack her last night," I inform her.

"WHAT? I'LL FUCKING KILL THEM!" Owen yells.

"I already did, get her some clothes we're getting out of here. I'll wake the others," I tell him and go back to my room, Clare is in the washroom and I send a text to everyone to be at the bikes in ten minutes. "Owen's getting you some clothes," I inform Clare when she comes out of the washroom.

"Thanks," she replies and there's a knock at the door.

Owen calls that it's him and I open the door. After he lectures Clare a minute about going places alone he gives her the clean clothes and she goes into the washroom to change. Owen leaves to get dressed and get Bianca and I get dressed when Clare's gone.

"You'll ride on my bike today," I command Clare when she leaves the washroom and she nods.

I walk with her to the bar that's now closed and she grabs her helmet getting on the back of my bike. I don't usually let anyone ride on my bike but when I told Owen his sister could join us I became responsible for her and I'll be damned if I let anything happen to her. I doubt those two will be dumb enough to follow us but just in case.

When everyone is here I start the bike and take off with Clare clinging tightly to my waist. We ride most of the day, we do stop for lunch but most people don't like to see a group of motorcycles pull up. Doesn't matter that we don't cause problems like most biker gangs, sell drugs or any of that, in fact when we need money we take honest work, construction, house painting, stuff like that things that pays well and we can do quickly. I know some of my guys take things from motels, bars and places but we don't hold a gun in their faces and take all their money or anything.

"You'll sleep in our room tonight I'll get a room with two beds," Owen informs his sister when we stop for the night.

"Everyone get rooms, there's a bar across the street, we'll meet there," I order.

"Clare's not going to the bar tonight I'll get us food we're staying the room," Owen says and Clare opens her mouth to argue but one look from Owen and she closes her mouth again.

"Good idea keep the kid out of trouble for a while," I remark and Clare looks away biting her lip with sorrowful eyes.

Bianca puts her arm around Clare and they walk in to get a room, I take my bag from the back of my bike and go to the motel. After Bianca and Clare get keys I request a room next to theirs. After getting my stuff in the room I go across to the bar and order some pitchers of beer and some food. Owen comes in and orders some stuff to-go and I nod to him as he leaves. Most of the gang comes in within a few minutes. After drinking a few beers and eating some grub the guys who already have chicks head back to the motel, those that don't either start flirting with girls here or drink more beers. A few get up to play darts or pool.

"Hey haven't seen you here before," a woman comments sitting next to me. She's got short blond hair, she's fairly skinny and looks tall, she's the type of girl I usually go back to my room with but I'm not in the mood tonight.

"And you won't see me again," I reply getting up from the table.

I go back to my room and get in the shower; I knew having a kid on the road with us would be trouble. She has been useful at time though, they inherited money when their parents died so Owen doesn't have to earn like the rest of us. Clare's pretty good at hustling money too but she attracts the bad ones, the guys that don't care that she's a kid, she attracts trouble. I let Owen bring her because I like him and he wasn't about to leave Clare to some foster home or group home. I wouldn't have either I spent most of my childhood in those and most are terrible. None the less she's trouble that brings trouble.

(CLARE)

It's been a week since Ric and Steve attempted to attack me, we've put two provinces between us and them now. I haven't ridden with Fitz again but I loved that day, gripping his waist and feeling the power of the bike between my legs, it felt so different riding with him than with anyone else. After that following night when Owen made me share a room with him and Bianca I got my own room again. Things are back to normal, which means I ride on the back of someone's bike, usually Dozer's, and Fitz barely looks at me while the rest of the gang treats me like a pet and a kid.

"You get us a room Clare and I are going to do a little shopping," Bianca says when we all stop for the night.

"Shopping for what?" Owen asks. I'm not sure what we're shopping for either because this is the first I've heard of it.

"None of your business, we'll meet you at the bar down the street in a couple of hours," Bianca replies taking Owen's keys and getting back on his bike. I get on the back and she drives us downtown.

"So what are we shopping for?" I question as we dismount and take off our helmets.

"Something hot and sexy for you to wear so Fitz notices you," she responds.

"How did you know?"

"All the girls know Babe it's more obvious than a biker riding naked and backwards down Main Street."

"I bet if I did that Fitz would notice," I comment and Bianca giggles as we enter a store. "If the girls know then why don't the guys? Why doesn't Fitz?"

"Because Doll men are dumb, and blind why do you think we spend so much time primpin' and fussin' to catch their attention?"

I laugh and we start looking around the store, after poking around a few minutes Bianca picks out a scarlet dress that is not only skin tight but laces up the front. She also picks out black stilettos that lace up with red laces.

"Owen will kill me," I comment coming out of the dressing room.

"Damn you look hot, don't worry about your brother I know just how to distract him. You can't ride the bike like that so you'd better change back," she tells me. I change again and when I come out I see Bianca buying herself some new lingerie. I'm assuming that's how she'll distract Owen, I buy the dress and the shoes and we get back on the bike taking our bags with us to the bar. "Go into the washroom and change I'll have your brother out of here in ten seconds," she instructs.

I walk to the washroom and turn back in time to see Bianca whisper something to Owen and then they run out. I change, put my clothes in the bag and walk to the table where the gang is sitting. Everyone stops talking and looks at me, they're mouths drop open and they freeze. I feel ridiculous this is not at all what I normally wear, the dress is tight enough that I feel like my breasts are just going to pop out and it's hard to walk in these heels. Despite how ridiculous I feel it's working because they're all looking at me like hungry dogs look at a steak. At the moment not one of them is thinking about me as a little kid. Even Fitz's eyes are popping out a little, but then his face changes and he gets up taking my hand and pulling me out of the bar and over to his bike. He gets on and starts the bike backing it up and pointing it at the direction of the motel, it's just half a block down but most of them still rode their bikes to the bar.

"Get on," Fitz demands. I start to put my leg over and he grabs my wrist to stop me. "Sit sidesaddle I'll drive slow, you can't sit that way in a dress so short," he says.

It takes me a second but I figure out how to get on sidesaddle, I put my arm around his upper chest and sort of hop on crossing my ankles, gripping my bag in my other hand. As soon as I'm on Fitz goes, he drives very slow but I still grip tightly to him, mostly just because I want to though. He parks at the motel and takes me to his room locking the door behind us. I bite my lip with a carnal smile thinking how wonderfully Bianca's plan worked and set my bag down.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing walking into the bar like that?! You were nearly raped a week ago and now you're parading around like the typical road tramps in the bars. I thought you were better than that," he growls pounding his fist on the dresser he's so angry. Now I'm angry too because he's scolding me like a little kid.

"Well at least you notice those road tramps," I spit back crossing my arms. "I know you're blind to it and see me as just a kid but I'm not a kid anymore and I like you."

I'm right in front of him now and decide to make my move, putting my hands on his shoulders I shove him to the wall and steal his lips. Kissing him with a strong passion and fervor, I nip his lower lip and his lips part, my tongue slips into his mouth and snakes around his. Fitz takes my waist and starts kissing me back but then he suddenly shoves me away.

"No you're Owen's baby sister I can't."

"I'm not a baby, I'm not a kid anymore I've been on the road with you all for a year and if you're only ever going to see me as a kid then I'll go find someone that doesn't," I assert heading for the door but Fitz takes my hand and pulls me back to him.

"No you fucking won't, you're not going out anywhere dressed like a common whore!"

"Fine I'll change, I'm going to town. The rest of you bring random girls back to your hotel all the time, well I'm not a kid and I've grown up fast on the road and I'm going to have some fun now," I assert pulling my hand away.

"No," Fitz argues getting in front of me.

"Excuse me? You can think of me like a kid all you want but I'm not, not anymore and you might be the leader of this gang but that doesn't mean you can tell what to do. If you're not going to notice me then I will go find someone who does because frankly I'm tired of being the gangs pet," I assert stepping around him to go to the door and begin unlocking it.

"I can't notice you," he responds but it's the not the words it's his tone that makes me stop. It's soft now, regretful, a little sorrowful and even laced with hope. "I can't notice you; no one in the gang will look at you or see you as anything but a kid because you are Owen's sister. We still see you as the shy, naïve, quiet girl that Owen brought to us who was sad and lost because her parents died. We know you've changed, grown up, become stronger, saucy, even sexy. We know that, we're not totally blind but you're still Owen's little sister."

"So that makes me off limits?" I question turning around and see that Fitz has turned around as well so we're facing each other again.

"Well yeah it does there's a code."

"You're the leader you can't talk to my brother and tell him you like me?"

"You've been with us a year you ever seen me with any girl more than a night? You think just because I'm leader your brother will be okay with you being my girl?"

"Does that mean you want me to be your girl?" I question with a hand on my hip and a cocked eyebrow, biting the corner of my lip at the end of the question.

"It doesn't matter Owen will never be okay with it," Fitz replies but he moves a step closer to me.

"I know you're a good guy and so does Owen. You just need to convince him that I'm more than a one night stand; he'd never be okay with that. He will be okay with us if I actually mean something to you, so do I?"

"You are like no other chick…sorry girl, I've ever known. I've spent so long doing everything possible to not notice you so I wouldn't be tempted have you any idea how hard it's been? I make sure you're watched and guarded sometimes more than Owen so that no one outside of this gang so much as shakes your hand. I've broken the hands of guys who touch you and I would kill to protect you so yes Clare you do mean something to me."

I grin and put my arms around his neck, "Then talk to Owen he'll be okay with it and even if he's not I can date who I want."

"You really are like no other girl," Fitz smiles brushing a curl behind my ear and then his hand traces around to the back of my head and he gives me a tender kiss. "Okay now change out of that terrible dress and back into your clothes I'll take you for some dinner."

"Hey I spent forty bucks on this dress."

"It doesn't you suit you, you're too classy for it," he tells me and I smile. I change back into my boots, jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket in the washroom. "Much better," Fitz says when I come out.

We go downstairs and get on his bike, without helmets but we only go a few blocks to a diner. He ate at the bar but he gets dessert and thinks about how he'll tell Owen. When we return from dinner he takes me back to his room. I sleep in the bed with him and this time we don't sleep back to back in fact he sleeps holding me and I have never been happier. We leave the room together in the morning and at the same time as Owen and Bianca leave their room.

"Did you get attacked again?" Owen inquires.

"No she didn't she slept in my room though, we only slept but I do care about her she's my girl now," Fitz informs Owen. Bianca smiles but Owen has a different expression.

"You don't have girls you have one night stands and that's my sister," Owen growls.

"I know but I don't have one night stands anymore. I promise I won't hurt her, if I ever do you have my permission to kill me, sock me right in the face or whatever you want," Fitz says.

"You better fucking believe I will," Owen replies.

He still looks shocked, maybe he just hasn't processed it all, but he doesn't say anything and just walks to the bikes. Everyone else is gathered around the bikes; I get my helmet and put it on.

"Clare on my bike. Clare's my girl now," Fitz announces before starting his bike.

I put my hand on Fitz's shoulder so I can get on the back; Fitz turns his head and tenderly kisses my hand. I sit down and Fitz puts his helmet on, I grip tightly to his waist and we ride off down the road and into the sunrise on the horizon.