A massive thank you to ILoveThee, IdrilLessien and pahwinchester for their input on the previous chapter.

Just an update: This isn't a set story, I'm feeling it out and finding a path to follow, so any ideas you want to throw in there will be greatly appreciated.

[Sorry, this is just a filler]

I'm also going to write a tag at the bottom of each chapter to say which songs influenced the writing of this chapter. :)


Juice ordered himself the 'big breakfast' which turned out to be several slices of toast, sausages, bacon and eggs. I ordered a bacon and egg roll and another cup of coffee. I watched in fascination as he began devouring the food like he hadn't eaten in days, yet, he somehow managed to avoid making a mess.

He seemed to realise I was watching him. He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, "What?" He asked, in a light, amused tone. I raised an eyebrow at him. "You just completely devoured all of that in the time it's taken me to eat half of this." I said, waggling the half eaten roll in my hand, "And you didn't drop a single piece."

He grinned, leaning back in the booth chair so he was sprawled across it. "What can I say?" He tucked his hands behind his head, "It's a gift."

I smiled in spite of myself. In the last couple of hours, my life had taken a tumble. Actually, tumble was a bit of an understatement. But there was Juice. Right now, he was the only stable thing for me to grasp to until I found some kind of normality.

"Alright, gifted Juice, what's the next move?" I asked, leaning forwards and letting my arms cross loosely on the table.

"Well, we're an hour or so from Charming." He stated, straightening, his face falling into something resembling seriousness. "I'll drop you around at my apartment, you can stay there for now 'cause I usually stay at the club house anyway." He said, rubbing at the back of his neck. "When I've dropped you off, I'll go talk to Clay about the situation, I might bend a few details." He shrugged, "Piece of cake."

And just like that, we were back on that shiny bike of Juice's flying down the highway.

He had bought another helmet at a small backward motorbike store for me, smaller, more suited to me, and taken his own back.

Last night, being on the back of the bike had made me nervous, even scared me. But as the night went on, I became more comfortable and began to trust in the bike's capabilities and Juice's abilities. Today, I was relishing the feeling of delicious freedom.

He was pretty spot on with the timing. It took us an hour and a half to reach Charming. Charming itself was small. Much smaller than Lodi. It was quant with its little shop fronts and smaller government facilities, like the hospital and the police building. Juice rode through town, giving me a quick tour, in doing so, he alerted some of his club buddies to our presence.

My heart began beating frantically in my chest when I realised they were now following us. My grip on Juice tightened enough for him to notice my distress and he glanced over his shoulder to see his 'brothers'. To my horror, he pulled over to the side of the road and killed the engine. My leg seemed to swing itself over the bike of its own accord, I hastily unclipped the helmet, dropping it on a handlebar. I nearly went ass up over the gutter and only then did I realise I was backing away from the approaching men.

Juice seemed to notice my uncertainty and moved to stand by me, an arm moving behind me to brace me and hooking in a belt loop of the opposite side of my jeans. "It's okay, Shepard." He murmured, "They're good, they're my brothers."

Without thinking, I corrected Juice. "It's Sarah. Shepard is my last name." My eyes widened in fear of what I'd done as I threw Juice a quick glance to see a smile tugging at his lips.

The men pulled in and killed their engines before advancing on us.

"Juicy Boy," One greeted, a Scottish accent lilting his words. He had graying hair and a beard to match, but really caught my eye was the scars carved up his cheeks nearly from lip to ear. He wore a patch titling him as 'Soldier'.

The other had unruly black hair and a facial hair combination, he wore a patch titling him 'Sergeant At Arms'.

Juice nodded at them with a grin, but behind me, he had his thumb on the back of my hip rubbing circles. It shocked me at first, then I noticed his intentions as trying to soothe my worries.

"Chibs," He directed as the Scotsman, "Tig, this is Shepard. She's an old friend." He said as the men directed their attention to me.

"Shepard is an odd name, lass." Chibs commented lightly while Tig seemed to be scrutinising me.

My stomach had filled itself with ice at the attention, "It's a nickname." I said, surprising myself with how level my voice was.

"So, here's the thing." Juice said, drawing the attention back to himself. "Shep was living in Lodi, and I may or may not have gotten her into a spot of trouble with the Mayans. She's going to stay in Charming for a while, I just have to fill Clay in."

"A spot of trouble?" Tig asked, obviously doubtful.

"Mayans wanted Juice dead. They saw me with him when they were chasing him across town." I said with a shrug. "He's always been a magnet for trouble." I added at the last minute. It would hopefully add an element of history that they would believe.

"Well, Juicy Boy, what's the deal?" Chibs asked, a verbal grin in his voice, "High school sweethearts or something?" Tig snorted.

"Nah, we're just friends, man." Juice said, his brow furrowing.

"Really?" Tig asked, crossing his arms comically and leaning forwards, "Then why have you had your hand on her ass this whole time?"


Author's Note:

I still have no direction to this story, but I just feel like writing.

Ideas and thoughts are welcome.

lBridgetl

Song List:

Work Song – Hozier

John the Revelator – Curtis Stigers Feat. The Forest Rangers

Been to Hell – Hollywood Undead

Problem – Penatonix

The City - Ed Sheeran