Have your friends collect your records and then change your number. I guess that I don't need that though. I guess you're just somebody that I used to know. -Gotye
"I said you can be careful and I'll be the reckless one, I get my heart broke but someday I'll find love," He could hear her voice from the front porch of her house, when he walked her back was facing him, her fingers dancing along the piano keys in front of her, "Maybe I'm reckless, please stop this because I hate when you play with me."
She stopped playing when she heard him clapping from the doorway, she instantly blushed.
"That's real good Lo, it sounds beautiful," He came and sat down next to her on the piano bench.
"Thank you," Lauren tilted her head upwards, her lips meeting his, "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in the garage all day.
"It's my lunch break."
"Well let me go make you something then," Lauren moved to stand up but was pulled back down by Opie's strong arms, "Ope let me go make you a sandwich, your break can't be that long."
"Play another song, I'll go make my own sandwich," Opie left her sitting alone and walked into the kitchen, smiling at the sound of the piano playing again. He walked back into the living room, taking a bite of his sandwich. "I always knew you were good but when did you become so great?"
"When you and Jax were prospecting. I had a lot of time alone to practice, I finally convinced my dad to buy me an actual piano instead of that stupid key board."
"You going to the party tonight?"
Lauren nodded enthusiastically and stole a bite of his food, "Yeah, I'll be there."
"Good, that means I get to spend some time with my girl."
Opie flipped his phone open looking at the time, "I gotta go babe. Do you want me to pick you up for tonight?"
"Nah I'll just meet you there," Opie placed a kiss on her lips, groaning as he pulled away.
"I wish I didn't have to go back."
"Me too, but you better leave now otherwise you're gonna be late."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you later Lo."
Like usual she was running late, she had taken too long showering, too long blow drying her hair, and too long picking out what to wear. She didn't have to dress to impress Opie, she knew that she could show up in sweat pants and he'd still only be interested in her. But those God awful croweaters, they would eat her alive. She finally settled on a shorter red cotton halter dress, dressy but not dressy enough to tip off her father that she was trying to impress anyone.
By the time she got to the garage the club house was already packed, she searched high and low for Opie with no avail.
"Lauren!" she saw Tara run towards her, "Oh my God Jax told me about you and Ope finally realizing that you're meant to be. This is amazing!"
Lauren's eyes opened wide and looked at the party surrounding them while Tara leaned in, "Oh don't worry, I won't say anything to anyone. Ope's by the bar just so you know, I better go find Jax."
He was exactly where Tara told her he'd be, posted up and the bar talking to her father, great.
"Baby!" Tig shouted when his eye's caught her causing Opie to turn in her direction and smile.
"Hi daddy," She hugged him in a semi-awkward silence, he smelled of pure alcohol and cigarettes.
"I wish I could stick around longer, but I got my eye on the red head over there," Tig kissed her forehead, "You behave."
"Never," Lauren laughed as he walked away, "So how was hanging out with my dad?"
Opie took a sip of his beer and chuckled, "He asked me when I was gonna marry you."
Lauren nearly chocked on the drink she had just received from the prospect and her eyes went wide, "No he didn't."
"Swear on my life he did. He's not gonna remember it in the morning though the way he's going."
Lauren nodded, looking over at her father who face down in the red head's chest, "I worry about him."
"I know you do but he's fine, this is just how he is," Opie put his arm around her shoulder and pressed a kiss into her temple.
"Opie-"
"Lo no one is going to think any different about me doing that," Opie whispered into her ear.
"What are you drinking tonight?" Lauren nodded towards the shot glass Opie had raised to his lips.
"Whiskey, darlin', always drinking whiskey." Opie tilted the glass back and put it back on the bar, "What about you pretty, what're you drinking?"
"Vodka, you know whiskey's not my thing."
"Well let's take some shots then huh?" Opie reached behind the bar grabbing more shot glasses and the two handles of liquor.
"You sure this is a good idea?"
"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's a bad one, but I don't really care." Opie smiled, pouring liquid into their shot glasses before picking up his first shot glass, "Bottoms up."
Their glasses clinked and the next thing Lauren remembered was the room spinning, a croweater coming up to talk to Opie and the overwhelming need to puke. She must have bolted from the main room and some how safely made it to Opie's room because when she blacked back in she was sitting on the floor of his bathroom, her head hanging near the toilet seat. She could hear shuffling from the bedroom and figured that Opie had followed her in, she then felt a strong pair of hands grab her from under her arms, helping her up.
He leaned her up against his desk and started to peel her dress off of her when her hands grabbed his chest, "I'm sorry Ope, I'm so sorry. I wanted, I wanted," Lauren's eyes began filling with drunken tears before blurting out, "I just wanted to have sex with you tonight."
Opie stopped trying to undress her and took a step back, his eyes going wide at her statement.
"Oh my God. Do you not want to have sex with me?" Lauren asked, tears falling rapidly down her face, "Oh my God, I, I, I need-"
But she was cut off by his hands cupping her face, forcing her to look at him, "Now you're probably not gonna remember this in the morning but you listen here. Do not think for one second that I don't want to have sex with you because believe me it took everything I had to not drag you back here earlier, but this, this is not how we're going to have sex for the first time together. Lauren you don't have to get drunk to impress me, you already blow me away."
He watched her take a deep breath and wipe some of the fallen tears away from her cheeks, "You go brush your teeth and get out of that dress and I'll get you some clothes to sleep in."
Opie couldn't help but watch her stumble back into his bathroom and turn on the faucet, she was a hot mess but he was happy that she was his hot mess. He was still lost in thought about her when she made her way back to him clad in only her underwear, Opie handed her one of his old shirts before starting to take off his own clothes and helping her into bed.
They laid on their separate sides of the bed in silence for what felt like at least half an hour before Lauren rolled over and moved into Opie's side, her face pressed tightly against his bare chest and his arm wrapped around her shoulder, "I'm sorry Ope."
"There's nothing to be sorry about Lo," He pressed a kiss into her hair, his lips lingering until she propped herself up so they were looking directly at each other in his dark room. Her lips getting dangerously close to his, almost in a teasing manor before she finally pressed her lips against his ready and waiting mouth.
She pulled away slowly and laid her head back down in the crook of his shoulder, "Don't hold this against me because I'm drunk," she paused as if she was preparing to give speech, "I know we've only been dating for like two weeks, but I think I'm in love with you Opie, I think I always have been."
He ran his fingers up and down her arm for a few seconds before letting out a breathe he didn't even know he was holding in, "Me too Laur. It's always been you."
It's always been you.
She thought her brain was going to pop out of her eyes when she woke up the next morning, she could typically hold her liquor pretty well, but last night was a terrible mess. She closed her eyes trying to block out the embarrassing memories of the previous night and what she had felt the need to blurt out in a moment of extreme drunkenness. However, there were definitely a few things of last night that she never wanted to forget, how she told him she was in love and how he had reassured her that is always has been her for him.
She was face down on his bed, his body partially covering hers and his head was resting in the crook of her neck. She tried and failed at rolling over underneath only causing his grip on her to tighten.
"Ope," Lauren whispered into his ear, "Wake up."
He's head shot up off her shoulder, "What time is it? What's wrong?"
Lauren laughed at him, finally being able to flip under him, "Nothing's wrong. You were just crushing me to death."
Opie laid back down on top of her, his head finding it's way back to the crook of her neck, "Sorry, you're just such a good pillow."
Lauren laughed bring her fingers up to his freshly cut hair, "I think maybe we should talk."
Opie nodded against her, but didn't pick his head up, "Opie, I'm being serious."
"I know," Opie looked up at her and finally rolled to his side of the bed, watching as Lauren sat up and tucked her legs underneath her, "How much you remember?"
"Everything that was said in here," Lauren tucked pieces of her hair behind her ears, looking down at the bed.
"I meant it," Opie grabbed one of her legs and pulled her towards him so one of her legs was thrown over his waist, "I still do."
"I meant what I said too," Lauren's hands traced a tattoo on his side, "All of it."
"Maybe I should talk to your dad."
"Yeah, maybe," Lauren said, her eyes trained on the tattoo she was tracing.
Opie grabbed her hand stopping her tracing and pulled her up against him, "I'm gonna talk to him later. I gotta Lo, before this goes any further."
Lauren nodded and crashed her lips into his, "Thank you."
"Hey Tig man can I talk to for a second?" Opie sat down next to Tig at the bar.
"Can it wait?" Tig took a swig out of the mug sitting in front of him, "My head is fucking killing me."
"It's really important," Opie took a deep breath, "It's about Lauren."
Tig whipped his head in Opie's direction, "What about Lauren?"
"Could we talk in private?"
"Anything you got to say you can say it hear in front of these people," Tig pointed around the club house and stood up next to Opie, "So what exactly do you want to talk about concerning my daughter?"
It was now or never. There was no getting around this talk with Tig and all of the outcomes that Opie could think of ended bloody.
"I love her."
"You love her huh?" Tig took a step back from Opie, chuckling under his breath. He then pulled his arm back and connected his fist with Opie's jaw knocking him off of his stool. Opie struggled to regain his balance on the bar when Tig struck again.
"Dad!" Lauren had just walked into the main room when she turned and saw her father impaling on Opie's face, the croweater's who were hanging around doing nothing to stop it.
"Dad, stop it!" Lauren rushed over to the two men and tried to put herself in-between them, "Stop it! You're acting crazy!"
Tig pulled away from the pair, breathing heavily, looking between Opie and Lauren, "Go to the Chapel now. Both of you."
Tig paced back and forth the Chapel looking at the pair, "This is serious?"
Opie and Lauren nodded eagerly.
"And you're gonna take care of her Opie?"
"Of course."
"I swear to fucking God if you ever hurt her, I will put a bullet in you and not even think twice."
Opie nodded, "Understood."
"Baby, this is what you want?"
"Dad, you don't even have to ask that."
Tig stopped his pacing and motioned for his daughter to stand up, "I love you so much and if he makes you happy then I'm happy."
He placed a kiss on her forehead and then turned to Opie, sticking out his hand, "Don't even think I won't hurt you," he reminded Opie again.
"I won't," Opie smiled as much as his now bruised face would let him.
"Baby, you go get him cleaned up. He's gonna look like shit."
"He really did a number on you," Lauren stood in between Opie's legs, pressing gauze to a cut above his eyebrow.
"Yeah he did," Opie cringed as she started to work on a new cut, "Maybe you should become a doctor someday, this seems pretty natural."
"I don't know, I can't see myself working in a hospital," Lauren dropped her hand from his face and looked at him, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Talking to my dad, taking some pretty brutal hits for me, for liking me," Lauren put her hand on the side of his cheek and felt him lean into her hand.
"I'd do anything for you Lo," Opie closed his eyes and could feel her move her face down towards his, "I'd walk through fire for you."
Their lips met and Opie snaked his arms around her tiny waist. "We need to finish cleaning you up."
"Yeah we do," Opie mumbled against her lips.
Lauren pulled away from his lips and moved to start working on another cut under Opie's eye running her finger over the butterfly bandage she had just placed on, "You're gonna have a black a eye or two."
Opie nodded, pulling her close to him again, "I've had worse. It's worth it though."
Lauren nodded and stepped back so Opie could get off the counter, "Thanks for patchin' me up babe."
"Of course," Lauren smiled at him grabbing his hand and leading him out of the bathroom.
"Lo," Opie stopped her just before they walked back into the club house, "I'm glad we're together. Don't you ever forget it."
Lauren smiled tightening her grip on his hand, "I won't. Ope I already told you, I'm in this for the long haul."
a/n: and as promised here is the newest chapter of this story! I hope you all like it and thank you for all of the faves, alerts and reviews it makes it all worth wild as I say every time. The next chapter is going to flash back forward to the present day and Lauren coming home. and last but not least GO REVIEW right meow and i'll love you forever!
