My alarm went off at nine am the next morning to wake me up for my hair appointment before the skating championship. I jumped a little as Fulton groaned next to me, his face looking as if he was enjoying a dream. I sighed with an small amount of contempt, pushing the stray hairs from my face and hitting the alarm before it woke Fulton up. Laying back down on my back; I looked at the ceiling for a minute to let my heart stop jumping before I glance over at his sleeping form again. I didn't want this night to end, I wanted to hold him for the rest of my life. The bruises on his back were lighter than the night before but they were still there, I moved my finger along the darkened skin in an effort to erase the pain. He was laying on his stomach next to me, his face looking in my direction. I leaned over wishing I could take his pain away as he began to stir.

"Hey." He said with a sigh, pushing the hair away from his face.

"Hey," I smiled, trying to make him feel better. "How are you feeling?" I asked a hint of concern still left in my voice.

"Not that good." He said trying to roll on his side to face me with some difficulty. His face changed to a painful expression as he finally made it to his side, staring at me intently.

"Fulton, I think we should tell someone what's going on." I scooted down to lay next to him again.

"Tammy, I can't." He seemed annoyed that I was again suggesting it.

"Why? Fulton...I don't want to see you hurt anymore." Tears welled up in my soft blue eyes before his face softened.

"What if they take me away? I don't want to be away from you." He touched my face with is thumb to rub away a stray tear that had fallen down my cheek.

"Fulton, why can't you just live with one of the Ducks?"

"The only ones besides you that really talk to me are Charlie and Banks and I wouldn't feel right asking them. Your parents aren't going to let me stay here, considering us…." He reminded me, still touching my face. I shook my head in understanding but continuing to feel the tears pool in my eyes.

"We'll figure something out." He said, leaning in to kiss me. I put my hand on the back of his head, pulling him closer as my tears were beginning to subside. We ended the kiss and a groan came from the floorboard, signaling my parents were getting up. He rolled off the bed, landing on the floor with a thump as my Mother opened the door.

"Tammy, you awake? Your hair appointment is in a half an hour." She asked as I hid my face from her so she wouldn't see I'd been crying. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I'm up...I'll be ready in a minute." I nodded. My Mother went to close the door before noticing Fulton's shirt on the floor,

"Whose is this?" She asked picking it up like it was a bug.

"Oh, you know, I think it's Fulton's. He must have left it here the other night when we were doing Chemistry homework. It's getting pretty hot out, spring is definitely here." I said fast, hoping she wouldn't question it.

"Oh. Well, get dressed. We're leaving." She said sitting it on the chair and leaving my room, slightly confused. The door shut with a click and Fulton sat up.

"That was too close, I got go." He said getting up and grabbing his shirt.

"Fulton..." I said turning him around at the window. "Are you coming to my competition this afternoon?" I asked.

"I don't know..." He said looking confused on what he was going to do this afternoon.

"Fulton, please. I need you to be there." I said as he nodded at me slightly.

"Okay." He said going out the window. He turned to kiss me quickly before heading down the tree with a little trouble.

The hairdresser's chair was uncomfortable as I groaned, shifting uncomfortably, my Mother looked at me, a hint of contempt written on her face.

"Stop fidgeting." She told me giving me a mean look. My face tightened, feeling my ankle ache from the night before. Tommy was seated in the chair next to me, getting his haircut.

"I saw you last night!" He finally said as our Mother walked away to look at the hair care products.

"So what?" I asked trying to act like nothing was going on.

"I saw you kiss Fulton..." He said sticking his tongue out at me.

"So..." I said looking at a magazine that was sitting on my lap.

"So, I'm going to tell Mom." He said smiling an evil grin.

"What do you want, punk?" I asked suddenly annoyed that I was being blackmailed into something again by my baby brother.

"After tonight, no more skating for me. No more of these frilly little costumes." He said, pointing to the suit he was now wearing.

"Mom's not going to go for that." My eyes looked back at our mother as she spoke with a woman at the counter about one of the shampoos.

"Well, you better make her." He said still grinning evilly. I sighed.

"I'll think of something." I said glancing through the magazine, flipping the pages feverously.

Dressed in my costume for that night, my skates sat on the steps behind me, as I stood in the front walkway to my house. He was nowhere in sight. I hopped from one foot to the other to keep warm in my stockings in the cold winter air. Tommy came out behind me looking disgusted with his costume. It had lace and frill everywhere and I couldn't help but laugh a little at how ridiculous he looked.

"I mean it... last time." He groaned getting in the van quickly so no one in the neighborhood would see him. I tossed my skates in the van beside him before standing on the sidewalk again to look for Fulton.

"Come on, Fulton." I thought jumping back and forth still. My Mother came up next to me,

"It's time to leave." She said looking down at her watch, I glanced again.

"Mom, just 5 more minutes...he'll be here." I said as she shut the back door on the van.

"Tammy, we can't wait. We're running late already. We don't have time to wait for your little friend." She said ushering me to the van. I opened the passenger's side door and climbed in. Tommy sat in the back with his headphones on, ignoring us as usual. I looked back again to make sure he wasn't coming and tears were brimming on my eyelids. We began to back up when I finally saw him, heading down our street, running to catch us.

"Fulton!" I cried out, jumping from the van,

"Tammy..." My Mother started as he made it to the van. If she could have, she would have grown horns.

"Sorry..." He started as I ran up to him,

"I was looking for you." I said. He smiled as he hugged me, almost kissing me but thinking better of it with my Mother looking at us from the open van door.

"Aren't you supposed to be at your competition?"

"Yeah, but I was waiting for you." I said. He smiled,

"I don't want you to miss this."

"Well, you should have been on time then." I smiled.

"I had other things going on."

"Well, let's go." I said pulling him towards the van. He got in next to Tommy and closed the door quickly.

At the competition I met so many people I couldn't remember any names, Fulton stayed by my side until I had to go out on the ice. I felt Fulton watch me as I delivered the best performance of my life up until then, skating to Mozart. I came off the ice and was immediately surrounded by so many people Fulton disappeared in the crowd.

"Fulton!" I called as the people were handing me business cards and all sorts of things, roses, teddy bears...everything I could think of. I finally made it to the scoring booth and Tommy and I watched as we got 9 out of 10's. I smiled brightly as I finally spotted Fulton and he walked over, hugging me.

"That was beautiful." He said as we parted. I touched his cheek as my Mother came over ushering me to talk to a coach that was there from the Junior Goodwill Games.

We made it home that night on a sugar high, since we stopped to get ice cream from the local shop. Mom parked the van and Fulton and I got out. It was beginning to snow again.

"God, Fulton, that was so awesome!" I said jumping into his arms.

"You looked so good out there." He said smiling at me as best he could,

"Do you want to go down to the pond and skate with me?" I asked getting my skates from the van.

"Oh, Tammy...I should be getting home." He said.

"Fulton…please?" I asked.

"Okay...I left my skates at Charlie's. I'll meet you there in 10 minutes." He said.

"Okay." I agreed kissing him on the cheek and running into the house to change into my sweatpants and a t-shirt.

I met him down at the pond and we just enjoyed each other's company, before the evidence of last night came up as I went to hug him. I bit my lip,

"I'm sorry." I said as he sat down, holding his back. He didn't say anything. I knelt down in front of him, taking his hand,

"Fulton, I think we should talk to somebody... I mean we can go talk to coach Bombay he doesn't leave till Friday for that minor leagues thing." I said, as he shook his head, no.

"Fulton!" I said angrily getting up and stomping off on the ice. Fulton sighed and got up to chase me. He grabbed me by the hand as I tried to skate away from him; he pulled me back to him, kissing me, to shut me up. He always knew how to make me forget what I was arguing about.

The spring was coming fast as the snow was beginning to melt. I got a new coach who was working me to death but Fulton and I spent every waking minute together and my Mother was starting to notice since the competition.

"Tammy?" She asked one warm spring night as I grabbed my roller skates and putting them on.

"Yes?" I asked stopping at the front door, my hand gripping the handle.

"Where are you going?"

"Just going down to town, they're doing this moonlight on the lake thing to kick off summer. Fulton and I were going to go, remember? I asked you and Dad and he said alright as long as it wasn't too late." I said holding the door handle tighter in my grip. She looked back at the costume she was sewing for me.

"Well, remember you have an early practice with Coach Blizzar." She said as I nodded,

"I know, I won't be long." I said heading out the door.

Fulton wasn't at our usual meeting place so I decided to take the route to his house to see if I could meet him on his way. I skated along the path and ducked as it cleared, revealing his house. The front lights were on and his light was on, so I skated to his window to see if he was in his room.

"Fulton?" I whispered. There was no answer.

"Fulton?" I said a little louder and still no answer, so I took off my roller blades, laying them on the ground and hopped up in his window, looking for him. He wasn't in his room as I climbed in and looked around. It was then, I heard the arguing from the kitchen.

"Get up!" His father was screaming as I heard his mother crying. My heart stopped as I reached the slightly opened door and peeked out. Fulton was huddled on the floor as his father was standing over him. His mother was crying to his father but I couldn't make out what was being said.

"Shut up, woman!" He yelled, pushing her into a bookcase behind them. She fell to the floor as Fulton got up, attacking his father. He knocked him back down and I couldn't take it anymore. I was going to explode with rage.

"Stop it!" I yelled, running to Fulton on the floor. His father looked confused.

"Where in the hell did you come from?" He asked, taking a drink of his beer. I touched Fulton's face.

"Fulton?" I asked, seeing his eye was bruised and his lip busted.

"Well, little lady, you picked the wrong house." His father said as he crushed the beer can and advanced on me. What did I get myself into? I thought, ducking into the crawlspace behind the refrigerator.

"Please..." I started crying as he grabbed my hair.

"Aren't you a pretty thing...Fulton you don't deserve this..." He said laughing a little before turning back to me, "She ain't too smart though." He said as Fulton attacked him, letting me go. His mother was stirring and managed to get a hold on his father as Fulton grabbed me up in his arms, running out the front door.

"What were you thinking?" He screamed at me once we got outside. It was the first time he'd been angry with me.

"I'm...I don't know, you were hurt..." I cried as I felt the tears in my eyes. "I'm sorry." I said beginning to cry. Fulton stopped yelling and grabbed me into his arms.

"You shouldn't have had to see that." He said holding me close.

"If you have to see it, then I'm going to see it." I said as he leaned down, kissing me. He winced as his busted lip stung.

"I'm sorry.." I said as he placed his hand on my cheek again.

"Let's get out of here.." He said.

"I left my skates in the bushes." I said pointing. Just then his father came storming out the front door.

"Fulton...you get back here!" He yelled coming for us. Fulton grabbed me as we ran into the woods. We ran for a long time before we stopped as it cleared into a large grass area by the lake. I stopped.

"Where are we?" I asked. Fulton sat down by the lake as I followed, sitting next to him.

"This is the old Brown property." He said as I looked around.

"Someone owns this?" I asked.

"Well, no one lives on the land, a house was never built." He said taking my hand. "I come down here sometimes...when I can't be with you. Just to think and sometimes sleep...I want to build your house here." He said as I smiled.

"So you're the one that took it? I think I want to be an architect when I get out of school." I smiled, kissing him. He held my head, kissing me back before we parted. We sat by the lake as I began to clean his lip up. I looked at him and smiled,

"What?" I asked.

"Tammy, Would you want to spend the rest of your life with me? I'm not the neatest person or the richest but…" He didn't finish the sentence as I kissed him again.

"That sounds great." I said smiling. He kissed me again as we laid back on the grass.

"Fulton?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Will you talk to Bombay, please?" I asked, not looking up at the sky instead of at him. He sighed,

"Yeah...I'll call Charlie tomorrow and find out where he is." He said as I snuggled into his embrace.

"Good." I said sighing. "I love you." I said softly.

"I love you too." He said holding me tighter. We fell asleep on the edge of the lake that night.