Hello Everyone, I thank you all for the reviews and follows and favorites and everything. Your reviews were most helpful. I am about a chapter and a half ahead of schedule and plan to keep it that way. I will most likely post every other to every three days depending on my school schedule. I am also debating on writing on of these from Kozik's point of view. It wouldn't be for a couple of more chapters but I wanted to know what you all thought about that. Again the more reviews, good and bad, that I get, the better I and my story become. Thanks, curry560

Chapter 2: Long Hard Times to Come

Rogue River and Tacoma were coming in for the week and Gemma had Tristan cleaning dorm rooms at the club house. It was around eight p.m. and she opened the door to Kozik's, she saved it for last. The room was relatively neat. The dirty clothes in a hamper near the closet and no trash out of the can. She was just finishing up, making the bed, when he burst in the room. He stopped short when he noticed her with a pillow in her hand.

"Gemma said I'd find you back here," his words were soft.

Tristan laid the pillow on the bed and made for the door, "I'm done now." She made to leave the room but he apparently had other plans. Quick as a cat he shut the door and laid against it.

"I want to talk to you for a minute." When she didn't make a move he continued, "Why have you been avoiding me T?"

Tristan faltered, opened her mouth to say something, anything, couldn't do it and closed her mouth again. Confrontation was not one of her strong points. Feeling like a fish out of water was an understatement.

"T, did I do something? Say something?" He paused, looking at her for an answer. "Come on T, help me out here, you won't even look at me anymore."

"Time to put on my big girl panties." She thought. "I can't keep avoiding him. I can do this. Just act tough and I can make out of here with out looking like an idiot."

She swallowed took a deep breath and made eye contact, "I'm not a little girl anymore, Kozik. Just because I don't run up to you anymore the minute you walk in the door, doesn't mean I'm mad. I have other things to do and I talk to other people too. I don't see what the big deal is. You are not the center of my attention." Tristan tried to push him out of the way of the door.

Kozik grabbed her shoulders and spun her around so she was up against the door. His eyes bored into hers. After a few horrible seconds, he said, "You're right T, you are a big girl." With that he opened the door pushed Tristan out into the hallway and slammed the door after her.

Back on the garage roof, she thought back over the events of the evening. It was dark and she knew she needed to get home. But her usual ride had just kicked her out and slammed the door in her face. She didn't know what to do. Dealings with the opposite sex still didn't go too good for her unless it came to those she thought of like a father, Clay, Tig, and Chibs, and those she thought of as brothers, Jax, Opie, and Juice. Kozik was on a whole other level.

She heard the thump of leather and metal and saw Jax come up the top of the ladder. He came and sat next to her.

"Hey T"

"Hey Jax" she didn't look at him, but out over the lot.

"You ready to head home, hun." He asked bumping shoulders with her. "I'm your ride tonight."

"Sure, if you're ready."

"Anything you want to talk about before we go back to the real world?" He would usually refer to the time spent on the roof as being away from the real world. When you came back down, reality sunk back in.

"I'm good Jax, but thanks." She decided that talking to Jax about any member of the club about some "crazy crush" as she labels it would not be a good idea.

"Alright sugar, but I'm here, in full big brother capacity when you need me."

He always was. But "Big Brother" was not who she needed to speak to about her boy problems. And she was completely wrong, she was a total idiot tonight.