A/n: So the ball starts a rollin' in this chapter... The next few chapters will have a good bit of action going on I think! I can't really think of any more way to introduce this, so on with the show.

Thanks to all of the new +'s and those who reviewed. I hope you enjoy and continue to give me feedback so I know what you guys would like to see

Disclaimer: I don't own the Sons of Anarchy in any way.

Arika was still brooding when they arrived at the middle school bright and early the next day. She had spent all of the day before shopping with Gemma, who instead of letting her pick out clothes, treated her like her personal barbie doll again and shoved frilly girly things on her instead of the neutral items she would have chosen for herself. She'd managed to tuck a few items in the car without Gemma's notice, one of which was the simple black halter top and jean skirt that she was wearing now with her trusty black flip-flops.

"You're a girl! Can't you enjoy that and dress like one?" Gemma complained when she laid eye on the outfit.

"What, do you think I pulled this skirt out of Bobby's closet? I'm being a girl!" She shot back defensively. If it hadn't been for the glare on her face, Gemma would have continued to argue, but she knew the younger girl was in a foul mood because of yesterday's events, and she didn't want to make it worse before the Taste of Charming fundraiser.

When they arrived at the school, Arika had helped Gemma get settled in her booth, and then Arika managed to disappear as the crowd started to trickle in. She felt a bit self conscious as she roamed around. She'd spent thirty minutes on her make-up, caking on the foundation until her black eye was successfully hidden from the prying eyes of children. The last thing the club needed was a woman associated with them, showing up with a black eye. It sent the wrong message.

She'd found a few members of SAMCRO hanging around, performing whatever duties that Gemma had assigned. Juice and Chibs were working the dunking booth, much to Juices displeasure. He'd been forced into the tank because Chibs had seniority.

Bobby was sitting at another booth, taking pictures with kids, and helping them make their own sideburns out of pieces of felt. Tig was by the entrance, just standing there, looking imposing. Arika guessed he had been pinned with security duty.

As she greeted all of them, she casually tried to pump them for information. Every single one of them stone walled her with the same generic answer.

"Club business. There was a security issue in the clubhouse. We're taking care of it, but it was SoA only." Bobby had explained. It was too well planned, too staged, because every single one of them gave her a similar answer. She was certain that they were just regurgitating the line they'd been fed by Clay. She had admitted defeat and was sitting at a picnic table near the stage when Opie flopped down beside her.

"Hey kid." he said cheerfully. Arika smiled and nodded unenthusiastically.

"Ope."

"How's it going?" he asked, she gave him an annoyed look.

"I spent the day playing barbie with Gemma yesterday, and the club is stonewalling me. How do you think it's going?" she snapped.

"Is it really that-" she shot him a look and he stopped mid-sentence. "Never mind."

"Who's the chick?" she asked, knowing that if she asked what she wanted, he'd feed her the same line everyone else had. Opie had arrived at the festival was a small brunette woman tucked under his arm, and they'd been disgustingly cute with each other the entire time they'd been there.

"Ah, you saw that huh?" he was turning a little pink.

"All of Charming saw it Opie."

"Her name is Donna. We went to school together, well we dated actually..." he looked at her cautiously to gauge her reaction.

"Uh-huh..."

"She moved to Lodi for some family shit, but came back just recently. We reconnected and... Well..." Arika rolled her eyes.

"Gross." she said shaking her head. "You serious about her?"

"Serious as I know how to be." he glanced as her again as Donna had found them and dropped onto his lap, planting an adoring kiss on his cheek. Arika forced a smile. She was happy for Opie, but the sickening display of affection made her want to gag. "Donna, this is Arika. She's part of the family."

"Opie has told me so much about you." the brunette said taking Arika's hand and shaking it.

"Likewise." she lied. "I'm gonna go look for Jax. He's bringing Bobby's spare guitar from the clubhouse." she said, that being the only polite way she knew how to excuse herself. They didn't seem to notice as they had started an aggressive match of tonsil hockey right there. She slapped Opie on the back of the head. "Kids are around!" she reminded. Donna blushed and broke the kiss, jumping off his lap as Arika walked off into the crowd.

It was crowed, but it wasn't packed, there was plenty of room to walk around all of the people milling about. That's why when a blonde woman walked past her, shoving her shoulder against Arika's, the twenty year old turned.

"Watch it bimbo." she snapped. The blonde turned and Arika recognized her as the one from the party who so rudely stepped between her and Jax, her attire was completely inappropriate for a school based function as she still screamed the part of a porn star.

"Oops. Don't take it the wrong way, I don't wanna be your new mistress." Arika blinked, not sure what she was talking about, but she had an uneasy feeling.

"Whatever. Have you seen Jax?" The brunette responded, doing her best to ignore the implications. Ima stepped close to Arika, who drew herself up to her full height, but she was still just an inch sorter then the bitch in heels.

"He's here. We came over together." she put extra emphasis on the words together. "I'm sure he's just desperately avoiding you."

"Look Porno Barbie, maybe you need to take the dick out of your ass and stop being a bitch. I asked a question, don't have to be a cunt about it." Ima laughed.

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black."

"What are you talking about?" Arika asked, fighting the urge to throttle the porn star.

"Didn't the boys tell you. Someone broke into the clubhouse, posted your work all over the walls."

"My work?" Ima pulled out her phone and held it out to the brunette for her to look at. Arika thought she would faint as she saw a large image of her, bound and gagged, bruises and red welts all over her body. The blown up image seemed to be hanging over the bar.

"Your kinky lesbo pictures were everywhere. I did think you looked kinda like a dike, gue-" Arika punched her, square in the face, with all of her might. She knew deep down, that Ima had nothing to do with it, but she blamed the woman. When Ima fell, Arika went down with her, climbing on top of her and punched her again. She was about to land a third blow when someone put their arms around her and lifted her to her feet. Arika was still swinging at the blonde who had rolled to her knees, coughing blood. "You bitch!" she shouted as whoever had grabbed Arika dragged her away. Once the blonde was out of sight, she was put down, but not released.

"I'll fucking rip her throat out." she growled as she turned to look at Ima's savior. Tig was looking over his shoulder, making sure that someone was tending to crowd control and Ima's needs. Arika was trying to pry free from his grasp tough and he turned back to her. "The porn princess is safe. Let go." she hissed. Tig chuckled and instead of holding onto her arm, slid the hand around her shoulders.

"Let's take a walk kid." he said, guiding her between two booths so that they were away from the crowd. Arika's mind was racing. Her secret was out and she could only imagine what they'd seen.

She had just started was a waitress in her mother's friend strip club as eighteen. She was desperate for work, trying to save up money to get out of her mother's hell hole house. Even with the good tips she got from the patrons of the cub, they saved the big bucks for the performers. She started off small, becoming a body shot girl, letting the men take their shows from between her tits as she gridded on their laps, but somehow that just barely made ends meet. Scott, her boss had been so great in the beginning, and so understanding of her need for money and even let her onto the stage a few nights a week, throwing a full lap dances her way. She was finally making a nice little nest egg for herself when she twisted her ankle and money went down the drain.

The night that Arika took her current position at the club, she'd had a fight with her mother over something stupid - the way she loaded the dishwasher- and it had spiraled into the worst kind of verbal assault that she'd endured yet. She was pissed and when Scott made her a very lucrative offer, she signed the contract that had been placed in front of her without hesitation. She'd become part of his girl on girl performance team. The deal raked in the cash and it let her hold onto the one thing that she prided herself on.

"You in there kid?" Tig asked tapping on her forehead. She'd been so lost in her head that she hadn't realized that she'd been led into the school. Gemma had secured a few classrooms as dressing rooms for the performers and the room Tig brought her to looked like it belong to a pack of second graders.

"Sorry. I was..." she shuddered and sank onto one of the short desks. "Fuck."

"You got hell of a right cross. I'm sure that bitch was spitting out teeth." Tig said, looking around the classroom, grimacing at the baby dolls piled in the corner.

"Did everyone see the pictures in the clubhouse?" she asked, looking into the older man's black eyes. "Does he know?" Tig looked down and she swore, standing up and flipping the table she'd been sitting on. Tig didn't life a finger to stop her as she flipped another table, and threw a chair. Nothing was being broken, and she had some shit to work out. He's had the prospect come in and clean it up later. When she finally stopped, her breathing coming in hard breaths and her hands trembling, Tig stepped up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. She tried to jerk away but her held tight.

"It's alright." he said putting and arm around her shoulders and hugging her tightly. "So you're a muff diver, we all knew that from your stunt and the clubhouse. Who cares?" she looked over her shoulder and he gave her a creepy smile, his smiles were always creepy though. She pressed her lips to his cheek. Then, slowly, she turned and pressed her lips to his. Her hands gripped his cut as she pressed for a harder kiss. Tig fell into the kiss, remembering how she looked with a girl underneath her like in the clubhouse, or the pictures of her involved in something kinky under a woman's boot. She pressed her body against his, putting a hand in his hair while the other started to pull at his belt buckle. She'd almost gotten his pants unzipped before he came back to himself and pulled away from the kiss much to his dick's displeasure.

"What are you doing doll face?"

"I have one thing that Scott didn't take." she said softly. "I want to give it to a Son." he made a confused face and backed away as she came in for another kiss.

"This about the chick he brought here?" the older man asked, taking her hands off of him and holding them.

"It's about being with a Son, and you're the only one who's not gonna judge me by what I've done." she purred, turning on her sex kitten charms.

"None of us give a shit about that doll." he said firmly, she made a face and jerked away.

"Maybe I just came back to get a piece of ass." she snapped.

"How's that working for you?"

"Fuck you. Of all of the people to give up no strings sex..." he laughed and shook his head at her.

"I'm all about a good time sweetheart, but this isn't about a good time. It's about getting back at a brother. I'm horny, not suicidal."

"It's about losing my god damn-" she stopped mid sentence as there was knock on the door. Jax poked his head into the room, taking in their closeness and Tigs almost opened pants.

"Am I interrupting?" he asked, taking in the state of the destroyed room.

"No. I was just leaving." Tig said, patting his friend on the back as he left the room, fixing his belt as he went. "Good luck." Arika glared as Jax walked in and set the guitar case by the door. As she looked at him now, knowing what he knew about her, she could see imagined disgust etched into his face.

"You okay?" he asked, standing close to her and taking in her kiss swollen lips.

"Fine." everything about her posture screamed otherwise.

"Look, I know it must suck that Opie is here with someone else, but fucking Tig is SO not the answer." she looked up at him and wondered how he could not make sense of everything that was going on when it was all crystal clear in her head, he must be pretending to spare her.

"I know about the clubhouse." she said in a tiny voice. He looked a little surprised, but he didn't say anything. "I just... I needed the money, and it seemed like a safe bet. I don't want to be one of those girls, I want out of that life!" now that she was talking, she didn't want to stop, she didn't want there to be a long enough silence for him to tell her how fucked up she was. "I signed the stupid contract, and he had me. It was like selling my soul to the devil. It's been getting worse, he's been demanding worse... But I couldn't get out from under it." he looked utterly confused, but as tears started spilling down her face he swept her into a tight hug.

"Honey... Sh... Darlin, it's okay." he said squeezing her tight, letting her cry into his cut.

"I let him take over my life, and I want it back Jax. I want my life back!" his jaw tightened as he remembered the letter.

They'll bring you back kicking and screaming if they have too.

"Sweetheart, you've got it. You're here and you are safe." he said.

"My life still isn't mine. I have to lie and hide... God I'm tired of hiding." she added. He didn't question her. He let her just cry into his chest some more. They stood there like this for almost twenty minutes before someone knocked at the door again. Jax looked over his shoulder to see Opie come into the room, looking concerned.

"Gemma wants Arika to get ready to go on... " he asked concern etched into his features. She looked up from where she'd buried her face in Jax's shoulder, still sniffling but no longer crying. "You okay?" Jax pulled her closer against his chest.

"She's fine." Jax said firmly. "She'll be out in a little bit." Opie looked taken aback by his brother's harsh tone. Arika looked up at him, unsure about what had caused that growl.

"I'll let Gemma know..." he backed out and Arika continues to stare at Jax's angry face.

"What's the matter?"

"I just don't like the way he treats you sometimes." Jax said finally dropping his arms and stepping back himself. "He's been a real dick lately." Arika laughed a little and looked around the room, happily spotting a mirror on the filing cabinet and she

"I'm gonna live a crazy dream, impossible as it may seem, doesn't matter what the future brings, I'm gonna live a crazy dream.*" Arika was standing the middle of the stage, playing a smooth melody on the guitar, several kids had secured patches of grass to sit and what her as she sang while the adult hung toward the back of the crowd. SAMCRO had gathered in the back corner, Gemma had sent them relief so that they would have a meeting.

"What are we gonna do with the princess?" Chibs asked, cutting in.

"She hasn't given us anything to work with." Clay answered. "We can't fix the shit if we don't know what's broken."

"She's a little wigged out." Tig suggested.

"-I'm gonna hold what whole wide world, right here in my open hands.-"

"No shit. Her mental state is definitely a little skewed. She thought getting into Tig's pants was the solution." Jax added. Chibs and Bobby made a face.

"Maybe we need to check her into the insane asylum." Juice added.

"- and maybe I'm just a little kid, a little kid with great big plans.-"

"I found this at the house yesterday, she doesn't know about it." he said pulling the letter out of the pocket inside of his cut. He handed the letter to Clay who read it and passed it along. The crowd burst out into applause and the bikers turned to the stage to add their appreciation to the songstress on the stage as well.

"Thanks! Thank you! Wow. Let's see, I think I have a couple more for you... What's this?" from the back of the crowd the boys could see her kneel down on the stage, and when she stood again she was holding a bouquet of flowers. "Thanks" she said down to whoever had handed them to her. She looked down at them and Jax wasn't sure but something about her smile changed. "You know..." she looked out into the crowd, her eyes looking for something. "I wasn't going to play this..." she set the flowers down on the small table on the back of stage and took a sip of water before she returned to the microphone. "But I know sometimes we all need a little strength." she played a cord on her guitar. "And this song, is about standing tall when things get hard."

She looked down at the guitar and started the next song when something caught Jax's eye. He saw a flash of crimson hair in the crowd.

"Skies are crying, I am watching. Catching teardrops in my hands**."

Jax pointed out the strange kid to Opie who immediately puffed up. Before the kid disappeared back into the crowd, all of SAMCRO had seen him and recognized him from the grainy surveillance tape.

"Only silence, as it's ending, like I never had chance. Do you have to make me feel like there's nothing left of me?"

Jax didn't wait for permission to act from Clay, he pushed into the crowd himself, looking moving to where he'd last seen the guy, his hands already clenched into fists, ready to bash his face in.

"You can take everything I have. You can break everything I am. Like I'm made of glass... Like I'm made of paper. Go on and try to tear me down. I will be rising from the ground. Like a sky scrapper... Like a sky scrapper..."

Soon all of SAMCRO had entered the playing field, each of them stalking through the mass of people who had gathered close together in front of the stage for the performance.

"As the smoke clears. I awaken, and untangle you from me. Would it make you, feel better, to watch me while I bleed. All my windows, still are broken, but I'm standing on my feet."

The way her voice sounded changed and Opie looked up at the stage to see her staring into the crowd, her eyes unmoving like they had roamed before in the first song. She saw something - or someone - in the crowd, and she was singing directly at them as she revisited the chorus. He tried to follow her gaze as he moved, but it was more difficult from the distance he was at and how closely knit the people had become.

"Go, run, run, run, I'm gonna stay right here. Watch you disappear."

Jax had seen the same thing that Opie had, and he was moving quickly, carelessly shoving people aside, eager to lay hands on whoever had put that spark of fear on the face of the singing girl on the stage, ignoring the ache and burn in his shoulder.

Arika could see Jax and Opie closing in on the prick who'd given her the flowers, just to shake her up. She wondered where they would kill him. Take to the woods maybe? She relished the look of knowing defeat and absolute terror on his face as Jax grabbed him by the back of his neck and Opie took is other arm.

"Go, run, run, run, yeah it's a long way down, but I am closer to the clouds up here."

When they reached the outside of the crowd, the kid looked like he was about to shit his pants, he was supposed to give a child the flowers for the girl, and then he was done. He knew he shouldn't have stuck around, but he hadn't wanted to miss all of the fun. Tig and Chibs were laying in wait, and Opie pushed the kid into their waiting hands.

"Clay wants him back at the club house. Gonna call Hap and get some god damn answers." Tig explained.

"Aye, too many eyes here." Jax nodded, but before they dragged the kid away he landed a nice, solid blow to the kid's face, blood splattering out of his nose.

"Get this piece of shit out of here before Jax knocks out all of his god damn teeth." Clay muttered, coming from the crowd, as the song ended and Arika stood on stage saying her thanks. With Bobby emerging, cursing up a storm.

"Shit! Gemma is gonna be pissed, I am supposed to go on now!" he hasn't anywhere near ready to get on stage, he had undone his wig was still in his motorcycle boots.

"Maybe the kid has got one more song?"

Arika had walked off the back of the stage, handing the microphone over to Gemma who was talking about some raffles and other unimportant nonsense. The second she was off the stage, she let her mask drop, panic flowing into her chest as came face to face with Scotts' right hand man. Ryan was a sick son of a bitch who had pushed to see Arika suffer some pain and torture, displeased at the constraints of her contract, and her unwillingness to come into his own bed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, still standing on the steps of the stage, taking her guitar off of her shoulder and holding it tightly.

"That's no way to greet and old friend now is it?" the scrawny but muscled ginger haired said in an icy tone.

"You're as friendly as a rabid dog you son of a bitch." she hissed back. He shrugged.

"You know, you might have something there... Because a rabid animal wouldn't care who gets hurt as long as he got what he was after." she didn't like the glint in his eye as he pulled out a phone from his pocket. "Question is, do you care?" he held the phone in front of her face and there was a streaming video of what looked like the crowd in front of the stage, she could hear the ego of Gemma's voice through the receiver, and when the video finally stopped moving after a few second she swallowed hard as she recognized the back of a man's head.

"Leave him out of this."

"But of course, however I'm not leaving this party without a goodie bag." she took a deep breath and knew that they had won. There wasn't a thing she would be willing to do that would risk his life. She set down the guitar and took a step toward the man when he jerked back the phone and looked over her shoulder.

"Arika, good." he spun to see Gemma who looked pissed. "Fat Elvis isn't ready to go on, you'll have to do another song." Arika looked back as the henchman then at Gemma.

"Okay. Just a second." she said waving Gemma away, the woman went back onto the stage to reintroduce the brunette and Arika turned to the ginger. "Let me do this then I will come with you. If I just vanish this won't go as smoothly as you'd like."

"I don't mind a little bloodshed." she believed that without a doubt.

"I know, but I do." Gemma reappeared and tapped Arika on the shoulder, handing her the microphone and the guitar. It took all of thirty seconds for Arika to think of what song she would play as a farewell to the chance for a beautiful life in Charming, and what she wanted to say, but it looked like she wouldn't get the chance. "Hi. I'm back!" the crowd laughed. "This song is one that I wrote such a long time ago, for a boy... Well a man, who I care about so much and never really had the guts to tell him." She started to strum on the guitar.

"Heart. Beats. fast. Colors and prom-ises. How to be brave, how can I love when I'm afraid to fall. But watching you standing there, all of my doubt suddenly goes away some how... One step closer. ***"

The remaining Sons were dispersed through the crowd, off to one side, she could see Opie and Donna standing close together and she felt a stab of jealousy of their happiness.

"I have died every day, waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you. For a thousand years. I love you for a thousand more."

As she played the interlude she could see Jax emerging from the crowd to stand by Gemma and Ima, who was sporting a split lip and swollen cheek and a hurt look on her face when Jax refused to let her wrap her arms around him, on the side of the stage,

"Time stands still. Beauty in all he is. I will be brave. I will not let anything take away what's standing in front of me. Every breath. Every hour has come to this. One step closer."

She repeated the chorus and pulled her eyes off of Jax as he shoved Ima away after she tried to plant a kiss on his cheek. She searched the crowd for any familiar faces but found few. It was clear that Charming had been one mistake after another. There was nothing special about this town that could heal all of her hurt or ease her suffering. Not even the Sons could protect her from the shitty choices she made.

"and all along I believed that I would find you, time has brought your heart to me, and I have love you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more..."

She stopped strumming the guitar and held the microphone in both hands, singing a cappella.

"I have died every day, waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you. For a thousand years... I'll love you for a thousand more."

The crowd erupted, and happy couples everywhere kissed their significant others and Arika bowed silently, then waved, trying to contain her tears as she handed the microphone to Bobby and set down hit guitar on the back table.

"Let's hear it for the Arika Blake!" he said putting and arm around her waist and pulling her to the front of the stage again. They crowd cheered and cat calls were made as she smiled again before giving Bobby a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek trying to convey her thanks and apologies for just walking out on him and the rest of her family. When he released her, she walked off of the stage, letting numbness wash over her for self preservation as Scott's thug took her by the arm firmly and led her through the school.

These are the songs I used. I am not a big fan of super talented OC's because they aren't realistic… But I just HAD to use these songs, and I thought this worked well… "Her" music plays a very minor role in all of the story… I think this is the last time you actually hear her sing… In this installment anyway =P

*Whole Wide World – Mindy Gledhill

** Skyscraper – Demi Lavato

*** A Thousand Years – Christina Perri