Tears On the Runway

by l0v3m3n0t

On the run from her savior turned obsessor, Marceline flees to Charming in search of the only family she has left, her Father: Chibs Telford. With a clean slate and a new family of outlaw bikers, can one of them make her forget the insecurities of her past?

6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:
"What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies."
—Aristotle

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"I can understand ketchup and syrup, but what in God's name made you even think about putting relish on your eggs?"

"We were out of ketchup, mustard, hot sauce and mayo in my unit and none of the other squads wanted to share theirs, so it was either relish, toothpaste or horseradish."

"You've smeared toothpaste on food before?"

"You'd be surprised at how good it tastes. We didn't have mint though. I didn't think bubblegum flavored toothpaste would taste good on eggs, so I made the mistake of picking horseradish and that's when I found out my stomach was pretty sensitive to it." I tried to hide my giggle by taking a bite of my bagel, but looked up and saw him smiling at me.

Kip and I were finishing up our breakfast and we've been talking. He asked about my life and how things were growing up in Scotts Valley. I felt like there wasn't much to tell, but the questions he asked were rewarded with long answers and he seemed to be interested in everything I was saying. I tried to filter around Gage, his MC and Zane, but that was easier said than done.

Zane was the reason I came out of the goddamn house. He'd randomly call and tell me to be dressed in 10 minutes, pick me up and take us somewhere to do something amazing. Concerts, circus shows, fireworks, paint ball tournaments, go kart racing. On the hot days, my AC would almost always bust after a few hours and we'd go into the backward to have water balloon fights or to just spray each other with the hose. After that, we'd sit in the daybed and gently swing as we dried in the sun.

I think Kip caught on that I was leaving out some pretty big chunks of my stories because he tried to avoid asking anything that might have to do anything with Zane, which was easier said than done because practically every interesting moment of my life involved him. He started telling me stories about him growing up in the coastal city of Manhattan Beach, L.A. He spent his Summers and weekends learning to surf or going to bonfire beach parties with his friends. He grew up with both parents, but his Dad worked a lot and his grandfather was the reason he learned about motorcycles and mechanics. When he got to his late teen years, he told me about getting into the army when he was legal and serving in the Iraq War. He served 9 years and was discharged because of the explosion that took one of his balls. Thankfully, he didn't come home with any mental disorders or PTSD, but he did say it took a while to get used to only having one nut. He said he still felt unbalanced. He moved out of L.A., found Charming and stumbled across the Sons of Anarchy.

That's what we've been talking about for the past few minutes, his time in service or the unbelievable things he's had to do in his Prospecting year, like how he recently had to cut a deer out of a windshield with a chainsaw. He spared me the trauma of hearing about the gruesome side of warfare and only told me lighthearted stories about his comrades when they were stationed at camp, when things were calm. Kip said that of all the men he's fought alongside with, he's never felt the brotherly connection like the one he feels with the Sons and I thought that was sweet. This club was his family now, both of ours.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." I glanced at Kip when he quickly replied, seeing him smile, but I couldn't keep his eyes.

"...it's kinda personal and you don't have to answer if you want to because you might be uncomfortable or just 'cause you don't want to, but you told me about it and I was just wondering if-"

"Yes, I can still have kids." The way he read my mind and answered so calmly threw me off a little. I felt like an ass for even bringing it up, but that was my question. "Oh, good news." Kip chirped and I wiped my mouth on a napkin, eyebrow tweaking at how excited he sounded. "I talked to Bobby last night and he's looking into some venues for his next show, but Fun Town's gonna be open by the time the guys shake off their hangovers."

"Really?" I asked, beaming and making Kip smile. I always loved carnivals and amusement parks, but all the midways would avoid Scotts Valley to setup in another town. Charming had its own big top and I was dying to see what it had to offer.

"Yeah. That means we get to take pictures later." I tried to bite back my smile, but I was more focused on hiding my blushing face from him. The fact that he remembered something that seemed so minor surprisingly meant a lot to me. "Good morning, sunshine. You look absolutely stunning."

I glanced at Kip and saw him smirking at something behind me. I turned and saw Juice half-stumbling over to us. He was shirtless, but he looked like he had a roughly good night. He could barely keep his eyes opened and I noticed the smeared lipstick kisses or bite marks littering his bare body. Speaking of body, Juice had a damn good one. He was muscular and toned like Jax was. I wondered how much these men worked out in a week.

"Bite me, Prospect." Juice grumbled back, smiling a bit. He sent me a wave and I gave him a good morning before he disappeared into the kitchen.

"Does that mean everyone's waking up?" I asked Kip and he just downed the last of his orange juice.

"If Juice and Jax are up, the rest of the guys are dealing with their leftovers. I bet Tig's gonna come out in the next 20 seconds with some blonde Crow Eater."

I had to see this. Kip scooted his chair over to my side of the table and we both watched the hall of the dorms, waiting for Kip's prediction to come true. At the 10 second mark, Juice came out of the kitchen with a coffee mug, got one look at us and leaned on our table to spectate. As if on cue, we heard a door closing and footsteps when we got to 20 seconds. A dirty-blonde sweetbutt came out first and she looked...nervous? She looked like she was shaking a little too. Her eyes were a little wide and she just timidly tugged the strap of her red tank over her shoulder. I couldn't tell if she was wearing a micro-mini denim skirt or hot pants, but they fit her like a thong. She had lace-up stilettos on and the ribbons tied around her hairless legs were crimson.

Tig came out from behind her and he looked as normal as ever, unlike his one night stand. The woman stiffened when Tig put his hand on her arm and gave her a shove to the path of the exit. She started walking away, but looked back at him and skittishly blinked before ducking her head, leaving.

"Jesus, what'd you do to that one?" Juice asked and Tig looked at him as if he had no idea what he was talking about. "She looked like she just had a near-death experience."

"She said, and I quote, 'I'm all for it, Sarge. I can take whatever you can deal.' She was teasing me all night. It's not my fault she didn't know what she was getting into." Tig explained. Both Juice and Kip were shaking their heads, clearly used to the aftermath of Tig's overnight delights. I knew he banged that woman, but I didn't understand what the hell he could've possibly done that freaked her out. "Mornin', princess."

Tig came over and gave me a quick peck on the head and tussled my hair before he went into the kitchen. I remembered Dad used to to the same thing in the morning and the only difference was that he called me 'dovey'. Despite whatever dark, kinky things Kip and Juice were teasingly hinting about could've happened between him and that Crow Eater, I thought what Tig just did was very affectionate and softhearted. I never thought a Sergeant-At-Arms could be compassionate, but Tig was.

"Son of a bitch! Ow, you little fucker!" My head snapped to the kitchen and I saw Tig jerk back from the other end, hitting the counter. I think I heard him growl and he stomped back over to the concealed part of the small kitchen. Clattering dishes, falling utensils and his curses were drifting from the room, but I heard Melinoë start to yowl and remembered she was still in there. Oh, boy. "I'm gonna skin you alive, you furry little bastard!"

"He's got some serious issues with that cat." Juice chuckled, but it was cut short when he flinched because it sounded like Tig hurled the goddamn fridge at a wall.

Tig's back just got thrown into the other half of the sliding door and he came out of the kitchen. When he turned around, he had Melinoë in his hand and he was gripping her by the scruff of her neck, her hisses and flailing paws not seeming to have any affect on him. I've never held her like that, but I knew most cats hated being handled that way and she was lashing out mid-air.

"Stay away from me, you goddamn demon!" Tig barked and let Melinoë go. She landed on her feet with a severely arched back and turned to him. With another antagonized hiss, she must've clawed at his sock-covered foot because Tig flinched away from her and she came sprinting under our table before he could kick her away. I felt her at my leg and she was lowly growling, but she hopped in my lap before I could attempt to grab her. "Next time, I'm gonna stuff you in the blender and push purée. We'll see how big and bad you are when you're a pile of pussy pudding."

Tig jabbed his finger at Melinoë and walked backwards into the kitchen. Melinoë's breathing calmed down, but she was still stiff in my lap and I started stroking her.

"Does she not like men?" Kip asked and when I faced him, I saw that he was a few feet from our table, but Juice was still close.

"She's just got a problem with leather, bad experience." That didn't seem to convince Kip because didn't get closer, but Juice came to my front and kneeled down. He started petting Melinoë and she lovingly purred at his affection.

"Aww, I knew you were a nice kitty." He cooed and Melinoë mewled, making him smile. "You're a pretty girl too."

"If you're gonna fuck the cat, cut the sweet talk and just get it over with." Kip joked and Juice flipped him off. I set Melinoë down and she just jumped in Juice's lap, so he sat on the wooden floor and continued petting her.

Something tapped my shoulder and I looked up to see that it was Kip. He looked pretty serious now and he pointed to the hall. Dad was there, leaning on the wall. His hair was a bit messy, but he had a stoic expression and I wondered why he seemed so solemn. I doubted the Sons were morning people, but they had to be used to the hangovers they got almost every morning.

I got up and went over to Dad. Before I got to him, he turned and went down the hall, so I followed him. When we passed the dorm rooms, I heard someone yelling and now that I was closer, it sounded like Piney. I guess he got a bad lay. Dad led us to his room and shut the door behind me. I sat in the recliner and tried to decipher why I felt like I just got into trouble with him. Maybe he was upset about me drinking yesterday. It's not like I got shitfaced and embarrassed myself, then again, I was never a raunchy or disorderly drunk.

"Marceline, what are you runnin' from?" Dad asked in a stony voice and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He knew why I fled Scotts Valley and why I was here, all the Sons did.

"I told you, Da. I'm trying to get away from the President-"

"Of an MC nobody's got the slightest clue about." He cut me off and I was thrown deeper into uncertainty. He was hinting around something, but I didn't know what. Dad ran a hand over his face and when he set his eyes on me again, I slightly cringed at the pain in them. He dug into his jean's pocket and pulled out a long prescription bottle. When I saw the pills with mismatched sides, I looked to the dresser and noticed that the vial of Librium was missing. "If you're in debt to a kingpin or some dealer, tell me. Do not lie to my face, Marceline. If you're hooked, we'll get ya' clean."

"I am not a tweaker, Junkie, whatever you call them!" I snapped and stood. Dad didn't change his impassive outlook and I groaned in frustration. I did my research on those pills to make sure Gage wasn't letting me take Endo 602 or some other crazy street drug and he kept his word. It was a prescription drug used to help people with Anxiety and I was supposed to take it once a day.

"How the hell do ya' explain this then?!" Dad barked back and lifted the vial of pills, almost cracking the plastic in his grasp. "Ya' think I dunno drugs when I see 'em?! I might be old, but I ain't blind or stupid, Marceline!"

"For Christ's sake, that's Librium! I have an Anxiety disorder and those pills keep me from passing out when an attack gets triggered!"

And you'd know that if you didn't leave me with that sadistic bitch.

I bit back that comment and stuffed it into the deepest part of my mind.

Dad finally let that titanium wall that blocked emotions come down and he looked happy, relieved even, but I was far from jovial. How the hell could he think I was a goddamn drug addict? I didn't have puncture wounds littering my arms or paled skin or rotting teeth or thinning hair. I didn't sleep around or suck guys off for money or drugs. I didn't steal from my friends to get a hit. What the hell kind of life is that, 'living' to fuel an addiction?

"I'm sorry, dovey." Dad said and I cooled down when I heard my childhood nickname. He honestly looked sorry too, like he regretted even having this conversation. "I came in here and thought you were asleep when I saw this. There was no label on it and I thought the worst. I remembered how ya' said Rose died and thought she got ya' on whatever shit she was takin' too. I just...I was afraid you were lyin' to me about why ya' came here. I thought you were gonna change your story, ask for money and run off when ya' got it. I just...I don't wanna lose you again, Marci..."

Dad looked heartbroken and the grief-stricken look in his eyes made me feel like an asshole for shouting at him like that. I knew having me back with him was something he cherished and the last thing he'd want is for me to run off before he even got a chance to make up for all the time Rose deprived him of. I wasn't planning on leaving him anytime soon and it's not like I had anywhere else to go. Dad was the closest family member I could get to because everyone else was in cross-country road trip distance. It was too risky for me to contact Zane and Hell would freeze over 3 times before I even thought about telling Gage I wanted to be with him.

"You could've approached that differently instead of going all Fin Tutuola on me." I said in a light tone that I hoped would show that I wasn't mad at him anymore. Dad let out a little chuckle and nodded.

"You'll have to excuse my parentin' skills, they're a bit rusty." He joked and I smiled. "These Anxiety Attacks, they happen often?"

"No, it was just because of Rose and Gage. With the pills, I should be fine. You don't need to worry."

"Rosemary?" He asked and I felt a shock bolt though my heart. "What'd she do ya'?"

I didn't say anything and I had my defenses up, just like every other time anyone would say something about that spiteful woman. I knew this conversation was going to have to happen, but I didn't want to talk about it at all. Dad should know though, he kinda needed to, but that didn't make me open up to the idea of sitting down and telling him about the years of suffering I endured due to him leaving. He'd feel like it was his fault and it wasn't.

"You know you can tell me anythin', right?" Dad asked and took a few steps towards me, his brows pulled together.

"...I just don't wanna talk about her..." I muttered, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Alright...we okay?"

I nodded and he opened his arms. Without hesitation, I went to give him a tight hug and he squeezed me back with equal tenderness. I could hear him softly chuckling and it made me smile. I'd have to easy on him until his parental instincts kicked in, but I'm sure he'd get into the gist of having a teenage girl in his custody in no time. I'm glad he didn't push me to talk Rosemary either.

"House huntin's comin' along." Dad said and I pulled away from him, eyebrows up in intrigue. "Gem helped me out and I'm gonna see a place later on. We might have somewhere to call home in a day or 2."

"Are you ready for raging house parties, teenage girls running up your phone bill and flooding your living room all the time?" Dad's face dropped to a blank expression and he looked like he was trying to swallow a huge pill that was being forced down his throat.

"Definitely not." He sighed and I laughed. "About that. I know you'll wanna be social and go about Charming and that's fine, but whenever you're outside the clubhouse, I want ya' to have your gun and a Son with ya'. The Prospect's usually the least busy of all of us, so make sure he's with ya' or within distance. We've got some enemies of our own snoopin' around Charming and I wanna make sure you're protected when I'm not around." I nodded in understanding and Dad hugged me again. He gave me the medication and I put them inside the drawer with my clothes.

Dad told me he'd be out in the bar if I needed him, gave me another hug and left. I decided to get dressed for the day and rummaged around my little stash of clothes for something to wear. I decided on cuffed, low-rise boyfriend shorts, my red Converses and a gray shirt with a red neckline and hem. I was really going to have to go shopping soon and it sucked that I had to leave so much stuff behind.

I went into the bathroom, drew a shower and lathered up. The only soap in here was a red bottle of Old Spice: Classic Scent and it smelled like something Dad would wear, but it didn't scream 'I'm an old bag of bones.' When I stepped out, I wrapped myself in a white towel and went rummaging around for lotion. I just finished moistening my legs when there was a knock at the door and I quickly wrapped myself in the towel again. I went to the door and stayed behind it as I cracked it open. To my surprise, there wasn't a Son on the other side, it was a woman.

The woman had butterscotch-brown hair and golden-blonde streaks. She had about 3 inches on me, but Christ Almighty, her eyes were beautiful. They were a dark emerald and I think I saw some speckles of hazel in them. Her eyes weren't her only beautiful feature, she was beautiful. Based off the women I saw last night, she was way too pretty to be a sweetbutt. She looked young, yet mature at the same time and I couldn't exactly pinpoint her age. She was wearing a white shirt with floral decorations on the flowing sleeves and collar, but the neckline was low enough to let me see the valley of her chest. There was a horizontal scar there.

"You must be this Marceline I've been hearing Jax blab about." The woman spoke and smiled at me. "You've got your Dad's eyes, they're pretty."

"T-thank you." I tried not to stutter, but I've never seen a woman with her level of regal attraction. It was like she was a goddess or a queen.

"I bought you some girl stuff, saved your Dad the trauma of shopping for pads and tampons." She lifted her hand and a white bag was hanging on her fingers. I could partially see though it and it was filled with personal items and toiletries. My eyes really lit up when I saw a kiwi-strawberry body wash in there and I greatly took the bag from her.

"Thanks." I repeated and the woman gave me another loving smile.

"Gemma." She introduced herself and held her hand out. I got a better grip on the top of the towel before I curled my arm around the door and shook it. "I hope you're getting dressed in there. The boys are pretty excited for Fun Town and they're not gonna tolerate anyone being fashionably late today."

I nodded and Gemma shut the door as she left. I had a feeling the Sons were ready to go and I didn't want to keep them waiting or get left behind, so I couldn't take another shower to scrub the masculine scent off me. I dumped the bag on the bed and stifled a squeal when I saw a little makeup, Sweet Pea perfume, Cool Cucumber shampoo and conditioner, Cherry Blossom lotion and I smiled when I saw the Cute & Girlie Pink Crush Teen Spirit deodorant. I decided to lather down with the lotion Gem got me and hoped that, with the perfume, would make me smell a bit more feminine.

After getting dressed and loosely fishbone braiding my hair, I took a few bills from my 2 grand and went out into the bar. Most of the Sons were out here, but a few of them were missing. I saw Juice at the bar with Kip and Dad. They were having a few shots, but Juice had Melinoë curled on his arm. His kutte was draped across the bar top and I was glad he heeded my warning about leather. I went over there and slipped behind the bar, next to Dad. He smiled and slung his arm around my shoulders.

"Marci, why do you smell like a man?" I sighed at Dad's question, but he just bent down a bit to sniff me. "Did you use my soap?"

"Gemma came with a bag of stuff after I took a shower." Dad chuckled at me and Juice moved away from the bar to go into the kitchen. He came out with the makeshift plate I made for Melinoë and another can of food for her, going down the hall. "So, who's coming to Fun Town?"

"Ope, Hap, Quinn and I got some things to take care of." Dad explained. "Jax , Bobby, Juice, Tig, Clay, Gemma and Sack are goin' out. You stick to him or Tig, Marci." I nodded and Dad took another shot back.

I looked at Kip and he smiled at me. I gave him one back, but my attention went to the door when I heard someone coming in. It was a girl and she looked like she was my age, but I don't think she could see me because I was being blocked by Dad's frame. She had honey skin, sparkling chestnut-brown eyes and her onyx, curly-kinky hair was pulled back into a poof of a ponytail; small, silver hoops were dangling from her ears.

Granted, the girl was a looker and she'd probably catch the eyes of all the Sons, but she looked a bit out of place here. She wasn't some caked-up Crow Eater that was desperately trying to win over one of the Sons and she wasn't dressed in skimpy clothes. She was wearing a white tank with a lace overlay, cuffed, stone washed shorts and tan gladiator sandals that came just under her knees. I noticed the golden chain around the waistband of her shorts and the leather fannypack with a Chanel emblem on the front flap that was settled high on her right leg.

As I watched her walk towards the closed leather doors, I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew her. It was different from how it was with Happy. I felt like I saw him one too many times, but couldn't place him. With this girl, I felt like I've interacted with her before. It was like we met in another life or something.

"Who's that?" I asked Dad or Kip and the girl stopped to respond to her chiming phone.

"Not sure, haven't seen her before." Dad answered and Kip shrugged, so he didn't know either.

"I think I know her."

"Well, go talk to her, dovey. See if you can't make a new friend." I looked up to see Dad's encouraging smile, but I wasn't about to go up to a complete stranger and possibly embarrass myself.

"Don't look at me." I warned and Dad raised an eyebrow.

"What-"

"Jazzy!" I yelled and dive-bombed to the ground. I hit Dad on the leg when he looked down at me and he stood a bit stiffly as he looked forward. He raised a hand and smiled, then looked down at me with scolding eyes. "Did she look?"

"Yes, she looked." He whispered back. "Now will you stop actin' like a madwoman?"

Slowly, I peered over the bar and saw that the girl took a seat at one of the tables, but she was partially facing us. I still didn't know if she was who I thought she was because she could've just looked because someone was yelling. When I was upright again, the girl glanced up from her phone and to the bar. She did a double take and her eyes stayed on me for a steady, unblinking minute. Then, her lips parted a bit and she stood up, beaming.

"Marceline, is that you?" She asked and I smiled back, nodding.

As if our minds were connected, we both started screaming in absolute glee and I crawled over the bar to get to her quicker. Jasmine was running towards me and I met her in a tight, squealing hug. We were still screaming and we pulled back to look at each others faces, then hugged again.

In my arms was my long-lost other half and now that we were together again, God only knows what kind of trouble we were going to get into. Jasmine Noellé Haydon was the sister I never got and we've known each other for years, decades even. I met her back in Scotts Valley in 6th grade and we got closer as the years chugged on. We were perfect opposites, but each others match.

A year prior to when Rose was murdered, she had to move out of our little hometown and I became the antisocial bundle of hate I was destined to be. We tried to keep in contact with one another and it worked for a little while, but we lost touch. Gage was around when we were friends, but he was still calm and could keep his temper in check. I told her about the bad boy biker I had as a close friend and she begged me to let her meet him, but I never did. I was glad I didn't too.

"Oh my God, it's so good to see you!" Jasmine happily sighed and we detached from one another again, but kept our hands on each others forearms. "Don't you ever leave me again. Life was so boring without you."

"Ugh, you're telling me. I missed you so much. Look at you, all grown up and beautiful!" I praised with a smile. and she smiled, running her hand through her hair.

"Oh, this is nothing, just some kick ass genes." Like she used to do, Jaz brushed off my compliment, but was grinning as she ran her hand through her thickly curled hair. "Look at you though, all sexy and slim. Good Lord, puberty crashed into you like a goddamn freight train!" She gave a coquettish whistle and took my hand to give me a spin. I giggled at her friendly flirting and she did too, but she got serious. "Wait, what are you doing in Charming?"

"I live here with my Dad now."

"So, we get to be besties again?" She excitedly asked and I nodded, sharing another squealing moment of joy with her.

"What are you doing here, in the clubhouse?" I asked and she nodded to the pair of leather doors behind her.

"Dad's in there talking to Clay about something I could care less about, but he's my ride to Fun Town, so I had to come here. Speaking of, which one of these deliciously sexy bikers is your Dad? I gotta cross him off my to-do list."

"Someone turned into a whore." I joked and she just bat her lashes at me in mock innocence. I brought Jasmine to the bar and Dad's eyes twitched when we were in front of him.

"Please don't scream again." He asked. "You two sound like sirens and my ears are gonna bleed."

"He said what?" Jaz asked with a confused expression and I figured she just heard 'Please dinnae scream agin. Ye twa sound lik' sirens 'n mah eers ur gonnae bled.' I always thought it was funny when people hear Dad talk for the first time because, even with all his time in the States, his brogue was as thick as ever.

"He doesn't want us to scream again." I explained and she nodded. "Dad, this is Jasmine, my formerly lost best friend."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Telford." I giggled when Jasmine pronounced her words slowly, yet loud enough for everyone in the room to hear her. Dad chuckled at her, but tried to keep his accent at bay when he returned her greeting. He put his glass down and dug in his jeans, taking a Burner out. He told us to have fun and walked off, probably leaving.

"Oh, and this is Kip." I turned Jaz to him and he gave her a friendly smile.

"Hello there, Mr. Dreamboat." She chirped and Kip's smile got bigger. "So, how long did she make you wait before she let you tap that sweet ginger ass?"

"Jasmine!" I scolded, but she didn't seem to care. I knew she was about to embarrass me more, so I tugged her into the kitchen and locked us inside.

"Hey, I wasn't done with my interrogation!" She protested, smiling like the devious little imp she was. "I still had to ask him if he's ever done drugs, his mother's maiden name, if he's ever payed for a prostitute, how old he is, the position he had you in the last time you guys banged-"

"There was no last time!" I cut her off and her eyebrows furrowed. "Kip is not my boyfriend. Christ, I just met the guy."

"You guys look cute together. Why haven't you tried to ride that roller coaster?" She asked, bucking her hips to emphasize what she was implying, and I rolled my eyes, smiling. "So, I've seen your Dad and Kip. Now, you've gotta name the rest of the Sons because I only know Jax and Clay. There's one guy here who I want all to myself."

"Describe him."

"He's pretty tall and my God, his body is to die for. He's got guns for arms and hard abs and tattoos and brown eyes and..." She sighed, but it turned into a purr and I laughed.

"I think you're talking about Happy, yuck. Why do you like him?"

" 'Cause he's hot." She bit her lip and smiled.

Jasmine and I went to the sliding door and I told her the names of all the Sons who were lounging around the bar as they waiting for Clay to finish his discussion with her Dad.

I remembered Jasmine told me her mother died a week after she was born and I also remembered the skittish man who'd always be late to pick her up after school, prompting me to wait with her until he decided to show up. She never let me meet him though. Her Dad would almost always be scratching at his arms and I remembered that there used to be scars left behind from how deep he was digging into his skin. I always wondered what was wrong with him, but I never asked because I thought it was personal. She told me that he wasn't in her life anymore and she didn't know if he was dead, but someone named T.O. was who she considered her father. She was his niece, but he's been taking care of her since she moved to California and he's her legal guardian now.

"What's T.O. stand for?" I asked asked as we came back into the bar and sat at a table.

"Taddarius Orwell, but he hates his name and the last time someone called him that, a jaw was broken." Jasmine looked back at the leather doors that still haven't opened and groaned. "DAAAD!"

And with that, one of the doors opened and a man slipped out. Unlike Jasmine's, his skin was more of a rich cocoa and his eyes were russet-brown. He didn't have any hair on his head, but he had a mustache that looked like it was starting to grow into a connecting beard. He had a leather kutte too, but I noticed the patches on his. Unlike the Sons', his were black and orange. The one over his heart said 'President' and the one on the other side said 'Lodi'.

"What is it, Jasmine?" He tiredly asked.

"Oh, nothing." She answered in pseudo calmness. "I'm just sitting here, slowly wasting away from boredom. We're supposed to be going to Fun Town, but you and Clay wanna read every single word of the entire history of America. They're gonna pack up and leave before we even get there!"

"Where is your patience, child?"

"At Fun Town, where I should be right now! Where is the love?" Clay chuckled and T.O.'s sigh and pat him on the arm.

"You mind having her tag along?" He asked Clay.

"Happy to have her. Alright, boys. You heard the lady, let's pile out!" Clay announced and the remainder of the Sons cheered, quickly escaping outside. These grown men looked like a bunch of high school boys rushing to get out of class on a Friday.

I noticed that Kip stayed at the bar and I figured he was waiting for me. When we got up, Jasmine introduced me to T.O. and since he wasn't coming to the amusement park either, he gave her a lecture about keeping close to one of the Sons. After they hugged, we went outside and Juice was behind us with Kip. After getting them acquainted, Juice offered to let her ride on his bike and Kip led me to his. I immediately noticed that his stuck out from the Son's Dynas because his was white. Nevertheless, I climbed on and Kip gave me a spare helmet before strapping his on.

From the line of bikes, I could see Clay's at the front and he held Gemma's hand to support her as she mounted his bike. What a gentleman. Once everyone was ready to go, the Sons pulled off in formation and I had my arms wrapped around Kip's stomach with my chin on his shoulder. As we rode down the streets of Charming, I noticed how everyone watched us ride by and it made me feel like we were celebrities or teenagers going to their prom in a limo.

I didn't notice how much I was enjoying myself until I realized I was laughing in Kip's ear. He didn't seem to mind because he was smirking. I looked to the motorcycle across from us when I heard Juice's voice over the loud rumbling of the bikes. Even with his shades on, he looked frantic and the reason had to be the insane teenage girl that was currently standing up behind him. Jasmine must've planted her feet on the bike's muffler and she had her hands on Juice's shoulders to keep her up. She was cheering and whooping while he was begging her to sit down, which did nothing but make her laugh.

After about 15 more minutes, we were at the entrance of Fun Town and the Sons parked their bikes in a line near the ticket booth. The guys were already at the ticket kiosk, but I was having trouble getting my helmet off because the latch refused to unclasp.

"I don't get too many backseaters. My spare helmet's kinda rusty." Kip said and put his helmet on the handlebar of his bike. He came to my side and I stiffened when his fingers were under my chin. His eyes were focused on his hands, but mine were on the twin pair of ocean-blue orbs and with the sun hitting them, I could see the speckles of silver in them. He managed to get the helmet off me and set it on the seat of his bike. He playfully cringed at me and his hands went to the top of my head next. "Don't kill me, but your braid got tugged out."

I didn't even notice my hair was out because all I could feel was his fingers weaving through my locks as he tried to manage my mane. He gave me a final, gentle pat on the top of my head and looked at my eyes. His smile slowly faded and his pupils started to dilate, but it the lightness in his eyes never left.

Kip half-yelped and he was tugged backwards by the tanned arm around his shoulders. He started laughing when he realized it was Juice dragging him to the ticket booth and Jasmine pulled me off his Dyna to drag me over. Someone already bought tickets for everyone and Tig gave me and Jaz one. As soon as we pushed through the turnstiles, time was as nonexistent as the Tooth Fairy. Jasmine knew where she was going and said she had a route planned out that would let us get to all the awesome rides while avoiding the boring ones.

We started with the Tilt-A-Whirl and got back in line for another go. As we were headed to the next ride, I convinced Jasmine to stray from her path when I spotted a ride called the Slingshot and the line wasn't long. Jaz refused to get on the ride because she was afraid something would go wrong, but Kip said he'd be my partner and we couldn't stop screaming when we were hurled into the air. When that was done, my legs were a little shaky, so we sat down for a minute, then the Gravitron was in our sights. Since we could all fit, Kip was on this ride with us and Juice managed to get in too. He decided to be ballsy and was strapped in upside down. Thankfully, nobody puked until the ride stopped and the world was spinning when we got off, making Jaz and I bump into each other a few times, laughing. After a boys vs. girls war on the bumper cars, we got on the sole roller-coaster in the place and it was nowhere near as thrilling as we thought it'd be. The goddamn Ferris wheel was more exciting.

Jaz and I just found a table to sit at while Juice and Kip ventured off to get us all something to eat. She was showing me the video she took of us on the Tilt-A-Whirl and once she'd edit it, there'd be a song playing in the background with other visual effects.

"The photo booth isn't too far away." She said and I nodded. "I'm thinkin' we do silly face, crazy face, 'Bitch, I'm Flawless' face and end it with the normal-est pose we can muster."

"Sounds like a plan." She high-fived me and we both giggled.

"Happy's a really fun guy and he seems like a pretty upbeat dude...I like his smile." She said softly and I looked at her, confused. "You think I could get him to take some pictures in the booth with me?"

"That's not Happy, that's Juice and he's the nicest dimwit you'll ever meet. Happy is the human version of Grumpy Cat." I clarified and that got an 'ohhh' from her. "I'm sure he'd be fine with the pictures though. Juice is one of the chillest people ever. That's the hottie on the top of your to-do list?"

"Maybe." She smiled and I laughed. Jasmine looked like she was about to laugh, but her eyes went behind me and she groaned, turning her head away.

"What?"

"My ex, Damien Carter. He's at the cotton candy stand with his football friends. Cameron's the blond and Evan's the brunet. Damien's the one with the longish hair." She went into her fannypack and pulled out a folded pair of black Wayfarer shades for me to wear. "Look, but don't look."

Like she asked, I tried not to be obvious when I turned around and I set my eyes on the cotton candy stand. There were 3 guys at the pink cart waiting to get their cloudy puffs of sugar and they were talking. One of them had dark green eyes, wheat-blond hair that came down to his earlobes and made a little bang over his eyebrows. He looked like the sporty, jock type. The next guy had golden-brown hair with his locks were combed over to the left because the right side was snipped down in choppy layers and his eyes were a cool grey. The last guy had to be Damien because his chestnut-brown locks were a few inches longer than Jax's were and he kept his in a shaggy style. Of the trio, he was the tallest and he looked like he was the oldest too. Once he stopped laughing, I saw his green-hazel eyes and knew those were what attracted Jaz to him.

"He's cute." I offered and turned back to Jasmine, taking the shades off. She put them on and kept her head from the direction of the boys.

"He's a huge dickwad too." She grumbled. "We hooked up and we were the It couple at school. He's the football star, I'm a kickass cheerleader, everyone wanted our relationship. He dropped the L-Bomb the night of Sophomore prom and I told him I loved him too, made banged each others brains out in the backseat of his Chevelle all night long. 2 months ago, he tells me he's going to football practice on a Friday night with Cam and Evan, but he really ran off to go to one of Savannah Kyle's parties. That dick choking, coke-slut had the audacity to post pictures of her sucking face and groping my man all over Instagram and she tagged me in them!"

"What a bitch." I scoffed.

"She's the queen of bitches!" Jaz hissed, annoyed as ever. "Everyone at school knew about it, but Damien thought I was a goddamn idiot and stuck with his 'I was at football practice' story, so I kicked his lying ass to the curb. After I get into a fight with Savannah, got suspended for 3 days, almost got kicked off cheer squad, had to suffer through a contradicting lecture from my Dad about how I shouldn't resort to violence to solve my problems, Damien's blowing up my phone with the sob stories and how much he misses me and all that mushy bullshit, yet he's still going to that whore's house."

"Want me to go kick him in the nuts?" I offered and Jasmine lost her scowl to smirk. "I will go over there and kick his nuts up into his throat. He won't even know what happened."

"Know what? That sounds- shit." Jaz sighed a groan and I glanced over my shoulder to see the boys coming to our table. Jasmine turned around, crossed a leg over her knee and even with her shades on, I knew she had her Bitch Face on.

"I thought that was you, Jasmine." Damien smiled. "You look nice. How long have you been here?"

"Hey Cam, Evan. You guys kicked ass last Saturday." She chirped with a smile and the other boys waved to her. Evan glanced at me, gave me a nod and pulled his phone out, tapping away. Cameron's eyes lingered for a second before he hung his head and looked around at all the attractions.

"C'mon, Minnie. Let's talk, please?"

"Don't call me that, heathen." Jasmine spat though her forced smile and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Jasmine, please. Just give me-"

"Why don't you go talk to Savannah Kyle? After all the carnies are finished gang-banging her, I'm sure she'd love to let you ride her. She might even be down for letting your friends join in." Damien sighed, but Cameron and Evan were laughing at him and they didn't stop when he glared at them.

"Marci, Jaz, we got some grub." We both turned around when we heard Kip's voice and he came back to our table, smiling. He set down a huge tray of Nachos and 2 funnel cakes on paper plates.

Kip's smile faded when he noticed the trio of boys behind us. A second later, Juice joined us and he had more food and sodas for everyone, already chattering about some of the rigged games scattered around the area. Like Kip did, he got serious when he noticed the boys.

"There a problem here?" Juice asked and my eyebrow cocked at the authoritativeness in his tone. I always thought Juice was a chill and silly guy, but he looked like...well, a Son right now. There was burning danger in his eyes and since he was wearing a short sleeved shirt, the muscles in his arms were far from hidden.

"We were just saying hi to Jasmine and her friend." Cameron gave Juice a nervous smile and took a step back as Evan did.

Both Juice and Kip narrowed their eyes when Damien didn't back off like his friends were. Granted, he looked like he was a second away from breaking into a nervous sweat, but he was periodically glancing from the Sons behind us to Jasmine, almost mentally begging her to do something.

"I think you should go." Kip said, his voice laced with the same threatening tone Juice had, but his seemed more deadly. Even with the prominent 'Prospect' patches all over his kutte, the boys, including Damien, looked like they were about to piss themselves.

"Get the fuck outta here!" Juice snapped. Evan and Cameron grabbed Damien and quickly dragged him away from the threatening Sons.

Jasmine and I turned to face the guys and they were looking at each other with stoic expressions. After a prolonged second of seriousness, they both laughed and started teasing about how scared the boys were. Kip and Juice sat down and we all started digging into the food they got. Jasmine must've decided that she wanted to play musical chairs because she managed to squeeze me out of my spot next to Juice. She finally took her glasses off and propped them on her head to bat her lashes at him. Due to her seat change, my arm was pressed against Kip's and I knew I was blushing.

Tig, Bobby and Jax managed to find us and they asked Jasmine and I if we were having fun with the dumbbells we were stuck with for the day. After trying to coax us into ditching Kip and Juice, they were off again and they stole the rest of our food. Juice and Kip didn't stray from us as we played some of the rigged games on our route to the photo booth. Jaz and I have been winning little trinkets or accessories, but not any of the bigger prizes that we were aiming for.

The last game before the photo booth was the Duck Shooter and I noticed that the sky was turning into a romantic reddish-pink shade. Jasmine and I only managed to get a combined score of 5 and that wasn't anywhere near enough points to get a prize. I had my eyes set on a cream and black panda bear that was about the size of a 4-year-old and I thought it was the cutest prize I've seen all day. Jasmine was already dragging Juice down to the photo booth and I set the BB-gun back on it's holder, but $5 was put on the counter top and the gun was picked up again.

"That one?" Kip asked and pointed the gun to the stuffed animal I wanted. It took me a second to register that he was asking if I wanted the prize and I nodded. The ducks started moving again and Kip was shadowing them with the gun.

One by one, the tin ducks were being shot down and the clank of them getting hit made my smile bigger. Kip was shooting them down every 2 seconds and when the last duck with the red bulls-eye came around, the lights and sirens went off to signal that he won. Once he set the gun down, he pointed to the money and the carnie got it down. As soon as he turned to me, I threw my arms around him and was laughing as I hugged him. I heard Kip start to laugh too and I pulled away.

"Your panda, m'lady." He bowed and presented the stuffed animal to me, which I gratefully took, giving him a curtsy.

"Marceline, Dreamboat, get your cute asses in the goddamn booth!" Jasmine's voice called us and Juice was getting their pictures from the slot on the photo machine.

As instructed, we went over and Kip offered to hold Magnus, my panda, while Jaz and I took our goofy pictures. When we finished, she told me to stay in the booth while she got out and Kip got in. He reminded me of his promise to take pictures and I knew I was blushing, but I couldn't stop smiling. Since he had Magnus, Kip prompted that we do the See, Hear and Speak No Evil poses. We were laughing for the next one, made wannabe tough faces next and neither of us really had anything for the last one, so I improvised. I was aiming to give him a peck on the cheek for the picture and to thank him again for winning Magnus, but that didn't go as planned.

Kip turned to face me and he was probably about to ask what pose we should do before the 5-second timer went off, but my stupid act of spontaneity made me kiss him right on the lips. The flash of the camera made me pull away a little, face burning with redness, but Kip moved in again and by some ungodly power, we were kissing. Christ, his lips were perfect. They were soft and smooth and knew exactly what they were doing. His hand was gently cupping my cheek and mine were wound around his neck.

"Half-Sack, let's go, man!" Juice heard Juice's voice, but it was only when he banged on the booth that we pulled away from each other.

Kip was gazing at me and I saw the faint redness on his cheeks, that wasn't as evident as the scarlet all over my face. I didn't even give him a chance to say anything because I pulled the curtain back and got out of the booth. I quickly snatched our strip of pictures from the slot before Jasmine could see them. I folded them and stuffed them in my pocket.

"We gotta head home, girls." Juice announced and Jasmine whined in disapproval. "I know, it's awesome hanging out with bikers, but duty calls. Sack, Clay wants you to take Jasmine home."

"No problem." He answered and Jasmine was making the noise of a sad puppy as she shuffled over to me, arms out for a hug.

We shared a long, fake-bawling embrace and swapped numbers before we all started walking to the entrance of the carnival. The Sons already regrouped and Jasmine thanked them for bringing her along before she mounted Kip's bike. She was still saying goodbye when they rode off and Jax offered me a ride, Juice giving Magnus one. Once everyone was strapped in and the engines were revved, we pulled out of the parking lot and started the drive home.

It was different riding at the front of the formation. I could see everything and Jax rode much faster than Kip did, probably because he wasn't restrained to the back of the line. He felt different too. Kip wasn't some massive bodybuilder, but he didn't have Jax's body type either. He was strong though. I could feel his toned stomach when we were riding together and I remembered how muscular his arm felt the night Jax threw that creepy guy out of the clubhouse.

As the drive home continued, I couldn't stop thinking about what happened in that damned photo booth. It wasn't supposed to end like it did, I was not supposed to kiss Kip and he sure as hell wasn't supposed to return it. But he did and it was burned into my memory. I decided that it was just a spur of a moment thing and that he was just going with the flow of the situation.

I kept telling myself that and I wanted to believe I was right...so why couldn't I? Why did I feel like I was wrong and that kiss meant more than what I was dismissing it as?