Thanks for reading BlueSaber-I hadn't heard or read anything about what you mentioned, but I suppose there are different variations of Luke's years on Tatooine out there. This is just mine. I hope you continue to read and enjoy! Thanks again!

Chapter 4

Luke had double and triple checked all the systems of the T-16, and was thrilled to find that there were no apparent problems. He couldn't believe his luck. He only wished he could share his excitement with his aunt and uncle. But they wouldn't appreciate that he'd spent half his life savings on a vehicle to race through Beggar's Canyon. In fact they would be incredibly disappointed, and nothing bothered Luke more than knowing he'd disappointed his aunt and uncle-he'd rather his uncle rant and rave and yell at him than look at him with disappointment. So Luke wouldn't tell them anything. Better to not experience the disappointment, he thought.

Luke, content with the thoughts of the young woman he'd seen that morning, made his way back to the Lars Homestead in his repaired landspeeder. He'd left the newly purchased T-16 at Biggs' and the two teens had made plans to race the Canyon again the next day. Luke hadn't mentioned the girl to Biggs; he'd saved the memory for himself. Luke wasn't sure if he'd ever see the girl again but he promised himself the next time he caught site of her, he would talk to her.

Luke was late for his chores because of his early morning trip to Anchorhead and once again felt the brunt of his grumpy Uncle Owen. As a result he spent the afternoon in the south fields repairing condensers. But for once Luke didn't mind. He had plenty of thoughts to occupy him in the hot, quiet of the desert field. Fantasies of her and dreams of racing his newly acquired T-16 filled his head the rest of the afternoon.

The days on Tatooine never varied, and except for the occasional sandstorm, the residents could count on it being sunny, hot and dry. The day Luke was to race Biggs in his new T-16 was no different. The air was still and the twin suns were beaming bright and hot in the big, blue sky. Once again a large crowd had gathered. News of Luke's acquisition had spread through the youth of the region.

Luke had spent the morning prior to the race wiping down the skyhopper so the ship was gleaming, and though it would soon be covered in a fine layer of dust, Luke admired it with obvious pride.

"Nice skyhopper, Skywalker," Luke turned to the voice and saw Camie, Tank, Doc and Winn moving towards him. He smiled at them.

"Like it? I got it for a steal," Luke fibbed slightly, though for the condition it was in, he did get for a very fair price.

"Think you'll beat Biggs today?" Winn, a very petite dark haired girl from Anchorhead, asked in her soft whispery voice.

Luke shrugged, attempting to act as if he could care less. Inside he was wound up tighter then ronto.

"Luke'll win," Camie piped up, her tone suggesting that if anyone said otherwise she'd let them know about it. The rest of the group exchanged glances.

"Well, good luck Luke," Dennis called as he and the others moved away. Luke waved absently, turning back to the vehicle to wipe down a few more surfaces.

Camie remained behind, but she knew enough not to hover over Luke. So she stood a few meters away, watching Luke move around the vehicle, exploring the surface of it with his hands, memorizing every scratch and dent that made the ship a perfect match for Luke; for though externally Luke looked unscarred, inside he felt like the ship looked. And though the ship looked scarred on the outside, inside it was a perfectly functioning machine.

"Ready, Luke?"

Luke turned and saw Biggs standing next to his own, brand-new skyhopper, grinning at him. Luke nodded and climbed into his own T-16. The two teens made their way to the starting line where Camie once again was signaling the start. As she dropped her hand, Luke felt such a rush as he accelerated in his skyhopper faster than he'd ever flown in any vehicle. Luke realized at that moment that no matter what happened, he was going to make it to the Academy. There was no way Uncle Owen was going to keep Luke on the moisture farm once he turned eighteen. Luke was meant to fly.

The loud laughter and cat-calling turned more than one head as the large group of teens made their way down the streets of Anchorhead. As the noisy group entered the Krayt's Nest Tavern, all the seated patrons turned to the ruckus, a few scowling at the rowdy kids.

Luke and Biggs, racing on even ground with similar vehicles, had provided the onlookers with an exciting race. Each took turns with the lead, but in the end, Luke managed to beat Biggs by barely half a meter. Biggs was graceful in defeat, and Luke was graceful in his success.

Luke was floating on air. He really didn't care about the race. It was nice to be on top again-but what he was most excited about was the skyhopper. What he most wanted to do was take the vehicle out on the flatlands of the Dune Sea and just go-flooring the skyhopper and accelerating to its maximum speed. But Biggs had insisted on treating Luke to a congratulatory glass of spice malt. So here they were.

As Luke and the others found a group of empty tables in the tavern, Camie left to get them pitchers of spice malt, while several of the other customers left the bar completely, flashing annoying glances at the raucous youth.

The large group of kids were having a great time, and even Fixer, who was normally grumpy and jealous of all those around him, was behaving himself. He and Doc were attempting to catch the attention of a couple young ladies having an early lunch. They were not having much success. Luke laughed at the two and their attempts to gain notice, and turning his head slightly, he glanced towards the doorway.

His laughter faded as his breath caught in his throat. There she was. Luke's smile felt plastered on his face, and all he could do was stare. His mouth grew dry, and his heart rate increased as he watched her survey the room, taking in the loud-mouthed kids he was sitting with. Luke wanted to tell everyone to leave, to go away or at least to shut-up and stop looking and sounding so…immature, so young. She observed the group gathered around Luke, then met Luke's eye. He tried to smile naturally, but her look slid right over him as she crossed the tavern to the far corner, as far from Luke and his friends as she could possibly get.

Luke felt a hard punch to his shoulder. "Who's that, I wonder?" Biggs said under his breath so only Luke could hear. Luke just shook his head. Biggs laughed, though at what Luke wasn't sure.

"I think I'll go introduce myself," Biggs said as he stood, gathering his mug in a veiled attempt to look like he was going for a refill-though there were several pitchers at the table still more than half-full. Luke wanted to grab his friend's arm, tell him no, but his reflexes were too slow, and all he grabbed was air as his friend stepped back from the table and crossed the room. The other's had stopped laughing and talking, noticing how Luke was staring across the room. They followed his gaze, the boys' jaws dropping to the floor, the few girls present whispering to each other, no doubt criticizing something about the beautiful stranger.

Luke wished they'd all just disappear. He wished he could disappear. It was almost painful for him to watch.

Biggs, walking with a swagger Luke hadn't seen before, sidled up to the bar, a few stools down from the girl. He slid his tankard to the bartender, indicating he wanted a refill. So far the girl was ignoring him. Biggs, undeterred, accepted his refill and turned his back to the bar, glancing to the group and flashing a confident smile.

Luke felt sick to his stomach. Like he was watching a speeder crash, and was powerless to stop it. Biggs turned to the girl, saying something to her, which she apparently ignored. Biggs, taking a drink from his mug, moved a little closer, than tried again to get her attention. As Biggs reached his hand out to touch the girls arm, Luke groaned. He knew what was going to happen before it did.

The girl, fast on her feet, gripped Biggs hand and whirling around she threw him belly up against the bar, his arm bent at an awkward angle behind him. She leaned in, and said something-but Luke and the others were too far away to hear. Luke was now feeling like he wanted to laugh out loud. He watched as Biggs nodded his head furiously, no longer grinning like an arrogant fool. The girl released her grip and strode out of the tavern, all eyes on her. As she passed the group of kids among which Luke was sitting, she turned and met them all with an even stare. The girls sitting near Luke started whispering again, their heads close together, while the guys all started laughing and calling her less than respectable names.

Luke remained silent. He wasn't sure what to make of this new development. He knew, however, that he had to meet her. She hadn't fallen for Biggs charismatic charms, so Luke knew she was a unique spirit indeed.

Biggs walked dejectedly back to the table, to the scattered applause and jeering of the group. He smiled sheepishly, his face a little red. He shrugged as he sat down, "I guess she couldn't handle the Darklighter charm," then he proceeded to smooth his dark moustache. The group burst out in fits of laughter once again, and the topic of conversation turned to more casual topics, like exploding womp rats and speeder repair. Luke followed along, though inside he was dying to know what the girl had really said to Biggs.

Later that day, as Biggs and Luke returned to the Darklighter residence, Luke considered how best to pose his question to Biggs. Luke knew his friend was probably embarrassed, having never been unsuccessful in his attempts to meet girls, let alone unsuccessful in front of all his friends. Luke didn't want to anger Biggs, so his mind worked to figure out a diplomatic way to address the scene from the tavern that morning.

Luke and Biggs secured the two skyhoppers in the Darklighter's garage, not speaking.

"Uh, Biggs, can I ask you something?" Luke began hesitantly as they stood in the cool garage.

"Sure, what's up," Biggs responded distractedly as he once again performed a ritual rub down of his skyhopper. Luke fleetingly wondered how long Biggs expected his vehicle to remain unscarred.

"Well, I was just wondering what happened today at the Krayt's Nest. You know, what did you say to that girl and what did she say to you?" Luke blurted it all out at once. It was more direct than he wanted, but he figured his friend could probably handle the question.

Biggs paused in his examination of the skyhopper. Luke, sure his friend was going to take his head off was caught completely by surprise when Biggs started laughing.

"You like her, don't you?" Biggs asked after his laughing fit subsided. Luke stared at his friend, a little hurt at his lack of consideration of Luke's feelings. When Luke didn't respond, Biggs stopped smiling and looked at Luke, his face fairly serious.

"Look, I actually was quite polite. I could tell she was no girly-girl like Winn, or Camie. No cheesy pick-up line would work on the likes of her. So I asked her name, and she didn't answer. Then I asked her again, and added that if she wanted to join us she was welcome. That was when she grabbed my arm. Practically breaking it, by the way," Biggs paused, rotating his shoulder and rubbing the joint with his other hand. "But she wasn't interested."

Luke waited, expectantly. "And?"

Biggs looked to Luke, exasperated. He shook his head. "She told me that her name was none of my business and if I knew what was good for me I'd leave her alone," Biggs paused and turned back to his skyhopper, speaking the next part in a muffled voice. "And she said to tell you, you should take a holo of her cause it'll last longer. She doesn't like you staring."

Luke felt as if his world was opening up at his feet. Somehow he just knew he'd never stand a chance with this girl. And now Biggs had proven it. She had told him flat out that she wasn't interested. Biggs laid a hand on Luke's sagging shoulders. "Sorry."

Luke just nodded as he backed a few steps, then turned and left Biggs staring after him, in the cool garage. Luke returned to the hot afternoon and climbing into his landspeeder he took off across the yellow sand.