September 1939

"Jason, are you coming to school this year, or not?" a feminine voice said from the doorway.

Jason groaned and rolled over in his bed. "Do I have to, Thalia? I can just go back home and try to see what I can do with the place. I don't need to go to school when I know how to farm," he complained.

He felt the covers being separated from the safety of his body, and his eyes met a beautiful pair of kaleidoscopic ones. "I may be a Lakota, but I know that farm boys go to school during the winter seasons. And it's not the eighteen hundreds anymore! It's the twentieth century, and your education is important," the girl said.

Jason jumped back in his bed, pulling the thin sheet over his bare chest. "Perry! What are you doing here?"

The brunette girl laughed with her arms crossed. "Waking you up, that's what. Now come on! I don't want to be late as well!

"Alright, I'm going," Jason said, getting up but not uncovering his chest. "Could you, um, leave so I can…"

Perry blushed and pursed her lips in a cute way. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything," she said in a flustered voice, as if just now realizing that Jason wasn't dressed. "I'll just be out here."

The door closed, and Jason found himself lightly chuckling. Perry was a different kind of girl, that was for sure. He pulled one his white shirts out of his dresser and slipped on a pair of jeans. Before opening the door again, Jason reached into the desk drawer and felt the familiar foreign paper that signaled Piper's response.

He studied the label, noticing that she had pressed the ink into the paper with a lot of force. He wondered what that was about, but he decided to ponder on that later. Jason folded the thin, blue lined paper and shoved it into his pocket.

"Jason, you're taking forever. I'm a girl and I get ready quicker than you," Perry called through the wooden door.

He opened the door to face the wondrous girl. "I'm right here. Were you worried I'd left you?"

Perry lightly popped his head, but her eyes gave away that she didn't mean it. "Don't be a twit now. You aren't going nowhere but school anyhow. You can't hide from me," she taunted, pushing her braid behind her shoulder and turning to walk down the stairs.

Jason could swear he felt Piper's letter burning in his pocket as he stared in amazement at the other girl in his life. He'd only met Perry last night, but in that walk home things had definitely taken a turn down an unexpected road.

But what could he do? Both of Perry and Piper had personalities like no other. They were unforgettable. Besides, this thing he had with Perry, assuming something was there, of course, would be gone as soon as Perry left for the Big Apple.

And then where would Jason be? Back to having a girl he could only have through letters?

He decided to embrace the moment while he had it. Negative thoughts never did any good for the world.

Jason followed Perry's lead down the stairs to find her avidly talking with Thalia, who was busy arranging a shelf of jams and jellies. He vaguely wondered if Thalia had set him up and sent Perry up to wake him, knowing it would be completely mortifying.

He vetoed the thought, because Thalia wasn't that disrespectful to Jason's privacy. He wasn't saying Perry was disrespectful, though. She probably just didn't know any better.

"Good morning, Jason," Thalia said, unpacking a case of strawberry jam. "I see that Perry can get you up faster than even I can," she mused with a smirk.

Jason sat up on the counter, taking a piece of bread from the plate. "Of course she did since I wasn't decent."

Perry blushed, apparently remembering the scene. "I said I was sorry!" she mumbled and then busied herself with grabbing a piece of bread to eat.

The door dinged open as a taller man walked in to the grocery store. "We're no open until-" Thalia informed him, but then abruptly stopped.

The man looked to be about Thalia's age, with sandy blonde hair and icy blue eyes. He was quite handsome, but an ugly scar across the side of his face disfigured his looks. "Are you the farm girl everyone talks about who moved to New Rome?"

Thalia's face tightened, and she moved away from the box of jars. "I wasn't aware that everyone spoke of me. Do you need something?" she asked.

Jason shared a look with Perry, who had questions written in her colorful eyes. He tried to pass on the silent message that he had no idea who this man is, but he didn't think Perry understood.

"But where are my manners?" the man exclaimed, holding out a hand to Thalia. "Luke Castellan. I own the train station here in New Rome. I simply came by to ask if you'd like to accompany me to the New Rome Days dance this Friday. Of course, if that's alright with the man of the house," he said, looking over to Jason.

Jason almost dropped the remaining crumbs of his bread slice. He was almost never addressed as the man of the house, probably because Thalia showed so much authority it wasn't necessary. But this man was undermining Thalia by asking Jason's permission. He didn't think that was sit with Thalia so well.

But on second thought, Thalia had forced him on that date with Perry last night. "It's all fine and dandy with me, Mr. Castellan. I'm sure my sister would be delighted to accompany you."


Friday night came faster than Jason expected.

Thalia was in the living room, forcing herself into a dressy black dress with short sleeves, complaining about each and everything. "Jason, I am so getting my revenge on you for this. I don't even know the man!"

Jason smirked as he sat on his desk, staring at Monday's letter from Piper. "I didn't know Perry, either. I think we're even."

"Look at me, Jason!" Thalia said, her low heels making a clanking noise on the wooden floor as she walked to the doorway.

Jason looked up. Thalia's hair had slightly grown longer than a bob, but she had put it up into a small bun on the top of her head with a silver clip. Her black dress was so unused that it almost shimmered in the dim light of their home. Thalia's wrist held her silver bracelet that she wore almost everyday due to superstition.

"I don't see anything wrong. You look fine," Jason observed, picking up the pencil and randomly drawing in the edges of a blank piece of paper that would eventually serve as a response to Piper.

Thalia glared at him. "That's the problem! If Luke sees me, he'll think that I would be a proper wife and will probably ask for my hand! Dear lord, I'm already an old maid on most standards, mother would be so ashamed and would be after my head. But I don't want to be wed, not yet!"

Jason stood up from his chair and took his sister's rough hands. "Thalia, if he has any respect for you, he'll understand and will wait for you to be ready. Just see how tonight goes and go from there," he assured her.

"Yes. Yes, I can do that," Thalia agreed, but Jason was sure it was more to herself. She took a deep breath and turned away from Jason. She looked down the stairs as if she was about to vomit, but then took the first step.

Jason returned to his blank letter, but then Thalia called out for him.

"Jason, are you and Percilla attending the dance as well?" she asked from the stairwell.

He nodded. "Yes, Leo said that he and Reyna would pick her up and then me. We'll be there shortly depending on how much fighting Leo and Reyna do that delays things."

Thalia took another breath as headlights blared up the staircase, illuminating her figure. "Luke is here. See you in a while," she said, disappearing.

Jason attempted to start his letter back to Piper for the twentieth time this week. He'd never taken this long to respond to the futuristic girl, but her last letter had been awfully…distant.

She said she liked him one minute, but then told him to find someone else. What was Jason supposed to do with that? Not for the first time, he found himself not understanding what Piper meant.

He wondered if she'd just had a bad day or something, causing her to be harsh in her letter. But then again, it seemed like she was hiding something. And this 'we need to talk'? Jason didn't know what that was for, but he didn't think it was a good thing.

Dearest Piper,

Has something gone wrong between us? Or am I simply misreading our letters that we exchanged?

Piper, please do not worry about Perry. She will not change anything. She leaves for New York in just a short while, and though I like her a lot, it will all be for nothing unless she stays or comes back.

In truth to you, I have many deep feelings for you that I could never possibly forget. Please remember that yourself as you go on with your life in 2013.

On a happier note, I finally got my revenge on Thalia for setting up my date with Perry. Monday morning, a sandy haired man named Luke Castellan came in and asked to take Thalia to the New Rome Days annual dance. And then, he asked my permission, giving Thalia practically no choice.

Now she's worried he'll ask for her hand in marriage, which she says she's not ready for. I hope they do eventually get married, just in spite.

Meanwhile, war has started overseas. We talk about it in hushed tones at school, but I'm not so convinced about this neutral thing America claims to be keeping. Also, I'm no longer afraid to join the service if I have to, which makes me almost happy. It is my duty to the country I live in.

Besides, Leo said he'd love to go with me so we can serve together. I don't think Reyna was too happy about that, seeing as she'd have to stay here while the two people closest to her left.

Love,

Jason

Jason stared at the now full page in front of him in satisfaction. He was amazed at how quickly he could write to Piper when the words came to his pen in the right way. He was happy that he had been able to respond to her on a rather pleasant note.

He heard the honking of a spastic horn outside the grocery store, and Jason took that as the sign that his ride had arrived. He quickly folded the letter and addressed it, then stuck it in the broken drawer. He grabbed his jacket and stumbled down the stairs down to his friends.

In Leo's car, both Reyna and Perry were looking exceptionally beautiful. Reyna was in a dark purple dress with her black hair done back in a low old fashioned braid folded into a bun, and Perry in a red with her hair let loose from it's usual choppy braids with an eagle feather pinned to the side.

Jason decided he liked her hair better that way. Jason slipped into the front seat beside Leo since both the girls were in the back, and Leo gave him one of his crazy smiles.

"You ready to dance your romantic heart out tonight, Grace?"

Jason snorted. "If you and Reyna don't set the place on fire first," he replied as Leo hit the gas.

Perry pulled herself up from the back seat and leaned closer to the two boys. "You've set places on fire before?"

"Correction, Leo has set places on fire before and shared the blame with me," Reyna informed Perry, crossing her arms in a dangerous way.

The city hall where the dance was being held loomed in front of them, and Leo parked on the side. The hall was decorated with gold and purple extravagantly, and swing music could be heard loudly playing.

"Sweetie, I've told you before. That candle lit itself on fire, I had nothing to do with it," Leo said, turning around in the black seats.

Jason took Perry's hand and helped her out of the car. "It's better that you don't ask," Jason told her as they walked into the bright doorway.

Jason handed the ticket man the appropriate slips, and they stepped into the elegantly decorated hall together. All around, people were dancing fast paced to the swing music, while others were sitting at round tables laughing and socializing.

He took her soft, delicate hands and pulled her to the dance floor. She froze up for a moment before leaning close and whispering into Jason's ear. "I don't know how to dance like this," she told him in a scared voice.

"It's okay, I'll teach you," Jason told her with a smile. "First, you've got to loosen up. Let your body glide with the music."

Perry's body loosened considerably, and she swayed with the beat. "Okay. Lead the way. I think I can follow."

He pulled her hands to the side, effectively swinging her over. She smiled but quickly caught on as they repeated and went to the opposite side. Jason let her get used to the swinging motion the dance caused before introducing something new.

Without warning, he pulled their hands into the air and spun her around a few times. Perry gave him a smirk that let him know that she had caught onto the rhythm of this foreign dance.

Soon, they were ducking, spinning, flipping, and well, swinging, all over the place. Perry was a quick learner, and was soon almost making Jason hesitate before taking on the next dance move.

When the song ended, both of them were so tired that they mentally agreed to take a break at one of the round tables. Jason poured some water into the glass on the table, and Perry dabbed at the sweat on her face with a towel.

"That was wonderful, Jason. You're a great dancer, really. I'm having a very nice time," Perry said in an exasperated voice.

Jason laughed and almost chugged his glass in one drink. "Thank you, but you're really something to dance with. I've never danced that much just to one song."

Perry didn't answer, instead pointing to a table near the end. "Is that your sister?"

He followed her gaze, and indeed found it was his sister. And she was laughing and having a good time with Luke. "It sure is. You wouldn't think she'd be that happy based on how she talked all week," he confirmed.

Perry took another drink of water. "Oh, really?"

"Having a great time out there dancing with your sweetheart?" a joking girl asked, who turned out to be Hazel.

Jason eyed the cinnamon haired girl with gold eyes while Perry blushed. "She's not my sweetheart, Miss Levesque. Now you run along with Sammy," he told her, though he didn't really mean it.

Hazel fanned her face, the jewels adorned across her dress and neck shining. "Sammy is too busy causing trouble with his cousin, I just talked to Reyna. She said she'd try to put a stop to it. You know Leo would do anything for that girl. Well, I'll be off then. See you around, Perry," Hazel said turning away from the two of them.

"Did you really mean that?" Perry asked with hurt in her voice.

Jason looked at her with question. "Mean what?"

Perry sighed and played with the ice in her glass of water. "We're not anything more than friends at all? Did anything this past week mean nothing to you?"

"Oh, Perry. It's not like that! Hazel was just teasing, really," Jason said in surprise, but it didn't change Perry's expression. Jason shifted in the chair uncomfortably. "Unless you want to…"

Perry gave a small suppressed smile. "Want to be more than friends, is that what you're trying to say?"

Jason didn't understand how the female mind worked, but he knew that his easy responses to upset girls had run out after his letter to Piper. "Perry, would you like to dance?"


So I tried my literal hardest to get this chapter up before I left for vacation for a week, which is to say tonight (A day earlier than planned!) It totally messed up everything! So if there are any mistakes, excuse my hasty writing.

Thank you for your amazing reviews, follows, and favorites! I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far!

Also, if you're interested in the sequel to Fame And Change, please go to my profile and vote on the poll! All votes are appreciated because they will help me plan the story!

Onward, please excuse the more than likely very late update on both my stories since I will be in a location where a computer and internet will not be accessible. Thank you for your patience!