A week later, he came to see me at the orphanage.

I'd heard his voice from the doorway asking for me, and my heart had started pounding so fast I thought for sure he'd be able to hear it. But when I walked to the door to see what he wanted, he looked at me like he always did.

I didn't speak.

Nor did he.

He started reaching his hand into his pocket to reach for his cigarette box, but then thought better of it and forced his hand down.

"Daisy I'm sorry about what happened."

There it was. The regret I'd been desperate for him not to feel. I closed my eyes briefly before opening them again and saying, with more courage than I'd thought I had, "I'm not."

"You're too young," he said conclusively, as though that explained everything away so easily.

"I'll be sixteen in a few months," I countered, trying to sound older like the girls I usually saw him with and the girls Arthur brought to the house on occasion. "There are girls my age gettin' married at sixteen. Girls younger than me who're pregnant already."

"Do ya really wanna be one of those girls, Dais?"

I huffed, "Of course not. I wasn't going to fuck you, Tommy, I just wanted to kiss you." I threw the swear word in there for emphasis and when his jaw tightened a little and he looked to the side, I knew it had done what she intended. He always tensed his strong jaw when he felt some kind of emotion, usually anger or sadness, but didn't want to show it.

"You're five years younger than me."

"So?"

"You're my little sister's best friend."

"Yes?"

He rolled his eyes at me like he couldn't believe I wasn't understanding his point.

"I don't do girlfriends."

"Who said I wanted to be your girlfriend?"

He almost smiled at that. "Cause you're too good to be anything less than that to a boy."

"You're not a boy."

He did smile at that. "Maybe when you're sixteen it won't be as bad…"

I scoffed. "It's four months away. What difference can four months make?"

"What do you want from me, Daisy?"

I looked down, not knowing how to answer the question. I didn't know how to answer that question.

"I want to kiss you more," I said decisively. "And have a right to be mad when I see girls rubbing up against you. Like Lizzie." Because I hated that.

He sighed quietly and didn't respond. We were silent for two whole minutes before I said something again.

"You talk to me more than you talk to anyone, Tommy," I whispered, feeling for a moment like the young girl he accused me of.

"I know," he muttered quietly back, as though he was reluctant to even admit it to himself.

Silence again.

"I need to talk to Ada before."

My heart stopped and my head whipped up. "What?"

He pointed a finger at me and tried to look serious, but I could see his eyes glowing brighter than they were when he showed up.

"No, Dais, don't get excited. I need to talk to Ada."

I smiled because Ada must, must, know I've fancied her brother since we were twelve. She just couldn't be against it. She was my best friend. She wouldn't ever say no to something that made me happy.

Ada wasn't happy, and she told me so the next day.

"He's my brother, Dais! He's so…old. And he can be mean sometimes. Why would you want to go out with him?"

I considered this for a moment, trying to decide how best to answer in a way that Ada would get. "Yaknow when you see Jack and your face explodes into a huge smile and you're so happy Ada? That's how I feel when I see Tommy."

She sat there looking at me like she'd never seen me before. "When did this even start?"

"We talk a lot on our walks home."

"I thought it was just something that'd go away, you fancying him. I didn't think it'd get to the point where he was on board with it too."

I stayed quiet, just hoping inside that she was okay with it. She continued to look at me, baffled, not saying anything. She clearly got that from her brother.

"I really like him, Ada," I told her quietly, grasping her knee. "He's the only one who doesn't look at me like I'm worth nothing."

"Oh, Daisy…"

She'd relented in the end. And by the time my sixteenth birthday came around, Tommy Shelby and I were officially together.

Thank you for your support so far with this story! I'm glad you're enjoying it. I want to quickly mention that if this first part seems fast-paced, it's because I do intend for Part Two to make up the bulk of this work. The main story starts then; this is just an extended background, I suppose.

Thanks again!