Hello! I've been wanting to do a Pearl Harbor fanfic for a while now, and I'm finally going to do it! I hope it'll turn into a beautiful love story that is different from the rest! Please feel free to leave constructive criticism or ideas you have for the future! I hope you enjoy to first chapter! Please leave a review! Enjoy! x

August 3rd, 1942.

I was getting married today. A thought that scared me. I didn't think I'd ever be getting married, the way I wanted to live my life, but I was and my excitement was less than wild. Today should be the happiest day of my life, after all I was getting married to one of the men I love. Yet, it was clouded by the arrival of Rafe and Evelyn. She, who was carrying Danny's baby. Everyone wanted to meet her, and at times couldn't care an inch about the blushing bride.

He'd care. He'd go through hoops of flames to show how much he'd care. He'd try and stop me too, telling me what a mistake I was making and that I should be with him, just like a few years ago. Not even on my wedding day would the thought of him fade away. I don't think he could ever fade, from my mind or heart. I fingered the pearl necklace he'd given me on my 21st birthday and smiled at it's importance and memory.

My dress rustled as I walked over to my closet. I reached up to the top shelves and pulled out a box. I opened it up and let the memories fill my mind. God only knows, the next time I'll be able to think of the man I truly loved.

July 13th, 1938.

It was a painfully hot day. There was no breeze in our towns little atmosphere and the sun beat down on my skin as I walked through the dusty roads hoping I'd reach the McCawley house soon. As I walked along the roads, following their every turn, I was soon greeted by the sight of the homestead and my best friend Abigail sitting on the front steps.

"Well, it's about time we were graced by your presence Charlotte," she said smirking as I panted heavily. I wiped a stray curl away from my face and placed my hands on my hips.

"You're lucky I even contemplated coming out with you today," I told her. She chuckled slightly and then embraced me into a hug. Abbie was always one to show affection even if I was covered in a layer of sweat and dust.

"Come on, let's go inside and make some lunch. Then we can go to the lake!" she said wiggling her eyebrows. I knew all to well, we weren't just going to cool off, but to see her newest infatuation.

"We're not walking are we?" I asked her, dreading the prospect.

"Don't be silly; Rafe will take us," she said slapping her second oldest brother on the back as we walked into the kitchen.

"Take you where?" he asked as he stuffed his face with sandwich.

"The lake," replied Abbie as she walked over to the oven to get more bread for our sandwiches.

"No," Rafe replied bluntly and then looked to me, "Afternoon Lottie," he finished, then squashed me into a brotherly hug. It was normal of Rafe to do. Our parents had grown up in this same town and had been friends right throughout high school. Our mothers were best friends, so it was only natural their children were too.

"Pretty please," I begged. I was not walking another mile today.

"Only if Danny and I can come," he said, rather happy with his compromise.

"Su-"

"No way. Uh uh," said Abbie as she cut me off. "Rafe, you can simply not come today. You'll wreck everything!" she exclaimed as she cut up the bread into slices. She was going so fast I thought she'd cut her fingers off.

"Wreck what?" he asked, an amused smile upon is face.

Not wanting to tell her brother about her latest crush, she decided to avoid the pressing conversation. "Fine, you can come. Where's Danny anyway?" she asked looking around. "Aren't y'all joined at the hip?". I giggled at her comment.

"No," Rafe scoffed with his mouth full. "The cockpit won't fit two." With that, Abbie and I figured out Rafe must've been out flying; finishing off some work Mr. McCawley had for him.

"When is he finished? I'm about to die of heat exhaustion," I told him, faking a swoon.

"He should be done soon. You girls need to be more patient," he yelled as he walked down the hallway and got us all some towels.

Just then the door creaked open and in walked a sweaty Danny. "How'd you now I was hungry?" he smirked to Abbie and he picked up a sandwich. She frowned at him furiously.

"Hey, those were for the lake!" she exclaimed. I took a seat, intrigued by the argument that was to come.

"The lake?" he asked with a mouthful.

"Yeah, we're going to wreck a date Abbie has," said Rafe walking into the kitchen; towels flung around various body parts.

"I do not have a date," she yelled. Her face was turning red. If it wasn't from the heat, it was sure coming from her feelings.

"That's not what you told me," I singsonged.

"See," said Rafe pointing to me.

"You can all make your own sandwiches," she said storming out of the kitchen and down to Rafe's car.

"So we're going now then?" Danny asked chuckling.

"I guess so," I said returning the smile.

Danny and I were squashed in the backseat underneath all the towels, food and various items of mens and girls' clothing; trust Rafe to keep his ladies' clothes. Rafe was holding on to the side of the door like he life depended on it as he attempted to teach Abbie how to drive.

"Don't you think some girls might want their stuff back?" I asked laughing.

"I'm getting around to it okay Lottie. It's not my fault they leave their jackets and what not lying about in my car," he said, never taking his eyes from the wheel Abbie was clutching tightly.

"Can y'all be quiet. I'm trying to concentrate," Abbie said and then slammed on the breaks hard. I flew forward onto the seat in front of me as did Danny. He groaned in pain.

"Keep up the good job Abs," he said settling back into the seat as did I.

"She might have to concentrate harder," I whispered to him.

"Just a little," he whispered back, smiling slightly. We drove a little bit more until we finally arrived at the lake. Rafe jumped out of the car as fast as he could and lay on the ground. Once I was out of the car I looked at him puzzled.

"What in the world are you doin' Rafe" I asked him.

"It's just...I've never been so happy to be on land," he replied. Abbie caught the joke and was clearly wounded; as she started walking down to the lake, she went out of her way and walked right on top of Rafe. Danny and I were in hysterics. Days like these would soon be gone, once Abbie and I have to go back to school.

"Get up out of the dust Rafe. Be a gentlemen and help Char with those towels," Danny said grabbing the picnic basket out of the car and following Abbie.

"Yes, sir."

"Come on, last one to the pier jumps off first!" Abbie called from down the way. I shared a look with Rafe, and bolted to were Abbie was hastily taking off her sun dress. I ripped my green sun dress off to reveal my red two piece. I felt slightly exposed as this was my first two piece, but in that moment, I didn't care. I wasn't jumping off that pier first. I ran besides Abbie, grabbing her hand so we'd be a shared first.

"That's not fair!" panted Rafe from behind us. "You had a head start!"

"Stop being a child Ray," yelled Abbie as we touched to final post of the pier, claiming first.

"Don't call me Ray," he said picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Rafe, put me down. Now. What are you doing? Rafe, don't you dare!" she yelled as he was nearing the edge of the pier.

"Sorry sis," he said releasing her from his grip and throwing her off the pier into the cool, sparkling water. Abbie yelled in protest as she flew through the air, only to be met with laughter from the three of us.

"Whose next?" asked Rafe as he turned to Danny and I.

"No. You're not picking me up," I warned.

"I'm not going in at your will," said Danny crossing his arms.

"But you're both going in," Rafe smirked. He then pushed us together and threw us both into the lake. I grabbed onto Danny, trying to keep myself on the pier but to no avail, I still ended up underneath the surface with Danny on my arm. As we surfaced, I rubbed the water out of my eyes and went to curse Rafe, until I saw him diving through the air.

"Are you okay?" laughed Danny who was behind me.

"Yeah, fine. Are you? I think I cut off your circulation," I joked.

"Just a few nail marks. But I'm tough, I think I'll survive," he said joking easily.

"Let's head back in, I think I see Joshua," said Abbie, whispering in my ear as she swam over to us.

"Yeah, sure." We swam back into shore, which wasn't a long swim, but none the less tiring. We waded in the shallow water until Abbie got up the courage to contemplate talking to Josh.

"What am I going to say if I do talk to him," she said making sure her brother wouldn't hear her.

"Uh, hello could work," I told her, rolling my eyes at her dramatics.

"You know what I mean," she said swatting my arm.

"Just go up and say hi, how's your summer, and I'm sure the ball will roll from there," I told her.

"Yeah, or you could say I love you Joshua. Marry me please," mocked Rafe clearly having ease dropped in on the conversation.

"Rafe!" I warned.

"Oh come on Lottie. Lemme tease my lil' sister. She's so cute with her crushes," he said smirking.

"Come on Rafe, listen to Char," said Danny. I gave him a smile of thanks. He was always first to take my side, besides Abbie of course.

"Hey Joshua!" Rafe called out ignoring the both of us.

"Rafe!" yelled Abbie, clearly embarrassed.

"Hey Joshua! It's me Rafe McCawley. You know my sister right? Her name's Abbie," he hollered, getting louder and louder. He opened he mouth to say something else but was met by a handful of mud from the bottom of the lake that Abbie had picked up and thrown at him. I stood there shocked. His face contorted into an expression of rage.

He rubbed the mud away, bent down and picked up some mud. "I-I'm sorry," squeaked Abbie. He stood up straight and hurled the mud towards her. Being quick, she ducked the mud which landed on the side of my hair.

"Rafe McCawley, are you wanting to die?" I asked him and I ran my fingers through my now muddy hair.

"Mud fight!" he yelled out. It was an all out war. Danny threw mud at Abbie, I threw mud at Rafe. Abbie threw mud at me and Rafe threw mud at Danny. We all had turns of being ganged up on. On my turn, Danny began to wrap his arms around me, giving a free shot to both Abbie and Rafe who laughed in delight. Finally, when everyone on the sand was starting to leave. We stopped our childlike behaviour and followed. We walked to Rafe's car, covered in mud. We were about to get inside when he ran forward and shut the door.

"What?" asked Danny.

"We are not riding home in my baby, covered in mud," he said trying to stay calm. I had to hold back my laughter. I'd never seen Rafe so serious.

"Come on Rafe, it'll be ages until we get home,' said Abbie.

"Yeah, and you can't just leave the car here," I pointed out.

"But we can push it," he smiled.

"See ya'll later," hollered Danny as he sped off.

"Where do you think you're going," I said running up to him and grabbing his hand. He turned around and his brown eyes locked onto my green ones for a split second. I felt shivers run up my spine.

"I can handle walking, but I'm not pushing that thing," he laughed. "You coming with me or staying?".

"Well seeing as my muscles are practically non-existent and would be no help, I'm coming with you," I told him and we started to walk.

"Hey wait up!" yelled Abbie.

"Guys, c'mon. This car ain't gonna push itself!" yelled Rafe. The three of us were practically sprinting at this stage. We were far ahead and Rafe and his car looked like an ant on the pavement. He finally came to the conclusion that we weren't coming back and jogged over to us, everntually catching up.

"Danny," he paused as he panted, "We're picking up my baby tomorrow."

"I gotta work at the shop tomorrow," Danny told him a matter-of-factly.

"And how are you going to get there without my car?" asked Rafe raising an eyebrow.

"He can always walk," I said, nudging Danny. His face contorted into a expression of disgust as he contemplated the two mile walk in the summer heat.

"We'll go early then," he told Rafe. Rafe high fived me and the four of us continued our walk back to the McCawley house.

The house was a sight for sore eyes. It's white picket fence and blue shutters made you forget you were in the middle of Tennessee farming country. We were greeted by a very tired looking Ethel McCawley who was relaxing on the porch swing with a book.

"It's about time you lot came home," she said, her eyes never leaving the book.

"Sorry Aunt Ethel, but Rafe refused to let us drive back," I told her.

"And why's that?" she asked us amused, looking up at us. Her eyes widened when she saw the four of us covered from head to toe in mud. "What on earth?".

"Abbie started it," said Rafe very maturely.

"You started it! You were the one who was teasing me," Abbie yelled at her brother, pointing her delicate finger in his masculine face.

"Was I the one who picked up the mud first?" asked Rafe smirking.

"That's enough!" said Aunt Ethel. "Charlotte, dear. You better get cleaned up before your parents get here. They're coming for dinner. And Danny, will you be staying? We're having roast."

We turned to Danny, knowing he'd never turn down a home cooked meal, especially a roast. "Well, Mrs. McCawley, you know how much I love your roasts," he said smiling at the women.

"Well then, y'all better get cleaned up. I'm not having mud cover my white table cloths," she muttered as she got up off the swing and walked inside the house.

"I can't believe you ratted me out," said Abbie as she faced her brother.

"The truth hurts," Rafe told her wisely. Danny started chuckling at his best friends remark.

"So will my backhand!" yelled Abbie as she went to hit her brother. He dodged it easily enough but was met with her tiny fist. Rafe then picked his sister up and so began their daily fight.

"I think I'm going to clean up now," I told them, but my small voice was drowned out by their yells and peels of laughter.

"I think I'll join you," said Danny watching them with an amused eye. We walked away without the two fighting siblings noticing and laughed as we entered the house.

"I cannot believe they still fight like they're five," said Danny shaking his head.

"The only difference is that Rafe can pick up Abbie, not the other way around," I joked as we entered the guest bathroom. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and didn't even notice myself. Mud was everywhere.

"It's in my hair," I muttered annoyed.

"In mine too," Danny said as he picked blobs of mud from his chestnut locks.

"Can't even tell the difference," I joked. He nudged me playfully and then grabbed a cloth and wet it. He began to wipe away the mud from arms and then grabbed mine to do the same. I flinched at the warm touch. I'd always had a soft spot for Danny in my heart. Ever since I was nine years old and he was ten. We were down at a creek trying to catch tadpoles when I slipped and he caught me. He then insisted on holding my hand at all times. I'd never forget that.

As the years passed, I dismissed my feelings for him as a childhood crush, but as we grew up it became harder and harder to suppress those feelings. Right now, my heart was pounding with every stroke his hand made against my skin.

"How are we going to get the mud out of our hair," he asked laughing, once he'd finished cleaning my arms.

"The sink," I said as I pulled out the shampoo from the cabinet.

"Sorry?" he asked confused.

"Just follow me," I told him. I flipped my long brown hair into the sink and turned on the water. I placed some shampoo in my hair and rubbed it in, hoping it would get the mud off. Danny followed me and started laughing.

"This is certainly a first," he said.

"For you maybe," I told him and I splashed him with some water.

"Oi, cheeky," he said returning the favour. We finished washing our hair and as I dried my hair out, he shook his madly, sending water and still bits of mud flying everywhere.

"Hey," I complained as mud landed on my face.

"I'm sorry," he said stifling a laugh. He grabbed the wet cloth he'd used before and moved closer towards me. His hand cupped my face and he gently rubbed to spot of mud away from the side of my lip. He let his fingers linger there and he brushed them down to my jawline. He was about to say something but was interupted by Rafe.

"Lottie, you're parents are here," he said slowly as he noticed the position Danny and I were in. Immediately Danny pushed himself away and brushed his fingers through his hair.

"I'll be right down," I told Rafe, feeling a blush rise to my cheeks. Rafe nodded with a smug look on his face. He walked off down the corridor and Danny turned back to face me.

"Well, we better get going," I told and walked passed him.

I couldn't sit still for all of dinner. With Danny sitting across from me and the events that unfolded in the bathroom earlier, my heart and mind was all over the place. Could he like me back? Was my childhood crush finally going to be something more?

I felt a shoe nudge my bare feet. I kept looking down at my food and smiled to myself. My foot was nudged again and I looked up to see Danny smiling wildly, the gap between his teeth on full display. All throughout dinner he'd been doing it, as if he knew it was sending me wild.

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love always, allycat23