Tara could have spent her entire day kissing Jax in the meadow, but she had a report due in AP History, her last class of the day. She took a deep breath as Jax helped her off his bike, staring warily up at the school. This would be her first time there in nearly two days. During that time, her entire world had changed. Yesterday morning, she was just boring old Tara Knowles, trying to hurry through the misery of her sixteenth birthday. Now, she was Jax Teller's girlfriend. That meant something. What, she wasn't sure.
She waited for Jax, unsure of how he would treat her in public, in front of their peers. Whispering sweet nothings into her ear when they were alone was one thing, but how would he act when they had an audience? Tara was about to find out. When he was finished fiddling with his bike, he turned to her and smiled. Not a polite, "how do I get rid of her?" smile, but a genuine, happy smile. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing her on the forehead.
"You ready?" he asked. Tara grinned, slipping her arm around his waist. She was. As they made their way toward the school, Jax looked down at his new girlfriend and spoke, his lips moving against her hair, tickling her scalp. "I suppose I should ask how you feel about public displays of affection, but I don't think I'd be able to keep my hands off you either way. I want everyone to know you're my girl. Especially David fucking Hale." Tara was at a loss for words. Was he serious? He was worried that she might not want to show him off? She was the one who'd hit the boyfriend jackpot. If she were a screamer, or a climber, she'd have shouted it from the school's rooftop.
The stares began before they even crossed the threshold of the school. Well, the guys were staring. The girls were glaring. All of them. It was a good thing Tara didn't care what others thought of her, otherwise she might not be able to handle the scrutiny that came with being Jax Teller's girlfriend.
The shock among the student body was palpable. "What is he doing with her?" Tara couldn't tell if people were actually saying the words aloud, or if she was just imagining them, but that was definitely what everyone was thinking. Either way, Jax didn't seem to notice. He just smiled and whistled, glancing at Tara every couple of minutes as they walked to her locker.
Just outside the cafeteria, they ran into Opie and Donna. Opie offered them a mischievous grin, clearly amused by the sudden turn of events in his best friend's life. Donna's smile was more condescending, but less harsh than it had been the day before.
"Oh goodie," she quipped. "Now I'm not the only member of the 'girls who aren't good enough for their boyfriends' club." The words stung, but only because Tara knew they were true. If Jax was at the top of the high school heartthrob list, Opie was a close second. Tara had never given much thought to what that must be like for Donna, having a whole school full of people who deemed her unworthy of Opie's attention. Maybe that was a part of the reason why she was so bitter. Only a part, though.
Tara saw the looks on Jax and Opie's faces, both of them ready to admonish Donna for being mean to poor little Tara. She didn't want that. If she was going to survive as Jax's girlfriend, she had to learn to fend for herself.
"Guess so," she said, locking eyes with Donna. "Should we get t-shirts made? Start holding meetings?" Donna let slip the hint of a smile. Jax's face relaxed, as did Opie's.
"You guys going to the clubhouse after school?" Opie asked. Donna had both of her twig-like arms wrapped around one of his impressive biceps. The way she clung to him left no question that they were sleeping together. Tara wondered if it would be that obvious once she and Jax began having sex. If they ever did.
"I don't know," Jax said, turning to Tara. "Babe, do you have plans after school?" Babe. Tara could get used to that.
She did. "I don't," she lied. Her father made her promise that she would go straight home after school. She was grounded, whatever that meant in Sean Knowles' world. But he'd broken plenty of promises to her, and let her down more times than she could count. She'd spent many a night sitting up, wondering where he was and if he was okay. It was his turn to worry. If he could even manage to stay up late enough to bother.
"Then we'll be there," Jax assumed. "I mean- if you want…"
"I do," Tara said. "Sounds like fun." Jax and Opie embraced each other in a quick, manly hug. Tara bit her lip, trying not to smile. They didn't look like the kind of guys that would hug. But they did it without even thinking, and without the slightest bit of concern for what anyone had to say about it. People could have their opinions about the motorcycle club that Jax and Opie were born into, and they did, but no one could deny the beauty of the club's unabashed camaraderie and love for one another. It was rare. And sort of beautiful.
Jax and Tara continued toward her locker, him oblivious to the eyes on them, and her doing her best to ignore them. She didn't care what anyone else thought. There was only one person she really didn't want to run into, and it was the tall boy making his way straight toward her, his eyes on fire.
"Shit," she muttered, turning her face into Jax's shoulder. She hoped he would pick up on her discomfort and steer them out of David Hale's path, but judging by the way his chest puffed out and his posture stiffened, that was unlikely.
"Hey, David," Jax taunted, a satisfied smile on his face. "How's it going?" David stopped a few feet from them, his eyes shifting from Jax to Tara and back.
"Jax." His voice was cold, almost robotic. "Tara. I trust you had a good birthday." Guilt panged inside the walls of her chest. David might be annoying, but he didn't deserve to be hurt the way she'd hurt him. The reason she stood him up was glaringly obvious, there was no point in trying to make up excuses or deny it. Still, she could at least apologize.
She cleared her throat. "David…"
"My girl had an amazing night," Jax interrupted, squeezing Tara's waist, pulling her close. "Thanks for asking." The pain in David's face was almost unbearable to look at. Tara wanted to say something, anything, to take it away. But it wouldn't do any good. The situation was what it was. The only thing she might accomplish by reaching out to him would be upsetting Jax in the process, and that was out of the question. So instead of doing the right thing, the thing her gut was screaming at her to do, she averted her eyes and allowed Jax to humiliate the boy who'd been in love with her since preschool, the closest thing to a friend she'd ever had.
"Awesome," David lied, sounding like a strangled cat. "Well, you and…your girl…enjoy the rest of your day." Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked the other way, leaving Tara in a fog of Old Spice and shame.
"Jackass," Jax chuckled, kissing Tara's temple. She swallowed hard.
"Yeah." She smiled, not wanting Jax to see how badly she felt. David shouldn't matter to her, not anymore. She was Jax Teller's girl now. Nothing else mattered.
'Jax Teller's Girl.' That had been Tara's official title for nearly three months, and she still wasn't used to it. She did her best to fill the role- started wearing a little more makeup, spent a bit more time on her hair in the mornings. Every day, she wore the leather wrist cuff Jax gave her for their one month anniversary, and she was never without the pager he got her so that he could always get a hold of her.
She rode to school with him every morning and went to the clubhouse with him after school every day. They spent their weekends together, as well as many a stolen afternoon when they were supposed to be in school. The clubhouse was becoming Tara's second home. Gemma was slowly but surely warming up to her, and Donna was almost what she would call a friend. Almost. Opie slipped effortlessly into a big brother-like role, and Tara adored Bobby and Chibs. The rest of the club members still scared her, Clay especially, so she did her best to avoid them. In her defense, they were all hardened criminals with police records a mile long.
She was no longer afraid of Jax's motorcycle, and often begged him to teach her how to ride it. She paid no attention to the disapproving looks she constantly got from her peers and teachers alike, and didn't much care that her grades were slipping, or that David and her father barely spoke to her anymore.
Tara had integrated herself seamlessly into her new life, the life of an MC princess. Everything was perfect. Well, almost everything. Jax still wouldn't have sex with her. Because he was Tara's first boyfriend, she had no idea what it meant to be in love- but she couldn't imagine anything feeling stronger than this. Still, they hadn't said the "L" word yet. Jax had more relationship experience than she did, by a mile, so she was trusting him to make the decision as to when they were officially "in love."
It was hard though. Sometimes they got soooo, so close to making love…and then Jax would shut it down. How did he have such self control, when she didn't? He was a teenage boy. And he'd had sex before. It killed Tara to think that he'd been close like that with other girls, but not with her. And it was the one thing that kept her from being completely secure in their relationship. Girls were constantly throwing themselves at Jax- girls he'd had sex with before, girls who knew what they were doing in bed. The longer Jax denied Tara, the more she worried that he would eventually give in to one of them, if he hadn't already.
"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" Donna asked, interrupting Tara's train of thought. She slid in next to Tara at their usual lunch table, at the far end of the patio. It was the only one that the sunlight reached, and the closest to the parking lot. Jax and Opie were tinkering with Opie's bike, which Opie was convinced had something wrong with it, while the girls watched them and ate undercooked cafeteria pizza.
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking," Tara said. She removed a half frozen pepperoni from her slice of pizza and then took a small bite. "Where were you this morning? Didn't see you after first hour."
Donna shook her head in protest, shoving her tray across the table. "Bathroom. I've been really nauseous the past couple of days. And this crap's not helping. I think I'm coming down with the flu." Tara frowned, scooting further away from Donna.
"Gross. Don't get me sick."
"Thanks for the concern, ass…" Donna readied herself to throw her straw wrapper at Tara, but stopped when she saw the murderous look in Tara's eyes. She followed Tara's gaze to where Jax and Opie were standing, talking to a group of four girls dressed like hookers, only two of whom Tara recognized.
"Who's that?" Tara's voice was flat, her eyes fixed on a tall blonde with long, curly hair, who was wearing short shorts and a hot pink tank top, and had her hand on Jax's shoulder. Apparently, Jax was telling some killer jokes, judging by the way blondie was laughing.
Donna drew in a sharp breath. "Wendy Case. Graduated last year. Her cousin is a crow-eater." Donna watched the way Tara's body tensed, her fists clenched at her sides. "You're gonna have to get used to it, you know. It's only gonna get worse once the guys get patched in. Either that, or you'll have to show these bitches their place."
"What, like fight them?" Tara asked. Donna laughed. The thought of Tara in a fist fight was ridiculous.
"Fight them, tell them off, maybe a give them a well-timed slap across the face so that Jax can jump in before they get ya back. But you've gotta do something, chick. Look at you. You're a mess." Tara shook her head. She wasn't a fighter. The rage bubbling up in her stomach, threatening to choke her, however, didn't seem to know that. She took deep breaths, trying to lower her blood pressure. She was almost there, almost, when the blonde bimbo Donna called Wendy reached up and tucked a lock of Jax's hair behind his ear. In hindsight, there were many, much worse things she could have done. But in that moment, Tara saw red.
She jumped up from the table and stalked across the parking lot, Donna on her heels. Jax saw her approaching, saw the angry look on her face, and smirked. He'd never seen Tara jealous before, which was likely why he found it cute rather than alarming. He had no idea what she was capable of. But then again, neither did she.
"Hey," she yelled, stepping between Jax and Wendy. "What do you think you're doing?" Donna slipped in under Opie's arm, trying not to let it show how much she was enjoying what was happening.
"We're havin' a conversation here," the blonde said, all attitude. She smacked on her gum as she stared Tara down. "Who the hell are you?"
Tara's cheeks were bright red, her hands shaking. She'd never been so angry before.
"I'm Jax's girlfriend," Tara hissed, staking her claim.
"You? No way." Wendy and her friends began to laugh. "Your tits haven't even come in yet." Without warning, Tara charged at Wendy, shoving her to the ground. Before the older girl could dig her heels into the gravel to get back up, Tara was on top of her, swinging and clawing at her face.
"Oh shit!" Donna whispered, her hand over her mouth. Jax and Opie were too stunned to move, watching in horror as Wendy thrashed under Tara's weight, screaming and crying out for help. Wendy's friends were yelling at Tara to let her go, but did nothing to try to help her. It wasn't until Tara curled her hands around Wendy's neck and began to squeeze that Jax sprung into action, pulled from his shock by the sound of Wendy choking and gasping for air.
"Tara!" he shouted. He grabbed his girlfriend under her arms and tried to pull her away, but she was stronger than he'd ever given her credit for. "Tara, stop!" Opie ran to his aid, prying Tara's hands from Wendy's neck. Jax lifted her into his arms, his face red from the effort. "Stop," he whispered into her ear as she struggled against him. He held her close, trying to calm her down. "Babe, stop."
Wendy's friends helped her up. She sobbed quietly as blood poured from her nose.
"You bitch!" she screamed. Tara turned around to face her just as Wendy picked up a decent-sized rock and chucked it at her. It hit Tara in the mouth, splitting her lip. Tara lunged at Wendy again, but Opie scooped her up before she even got close. He held her in his arms as she thrashed and kicked, Jax and Donna watching wide eyed.
Donna shook her head, in total disbelief. "What the hell have you done to her, Jax?"
Tara walked out of the principal's office with her head down, her father leading her. She was holding an ice pack to her lip and had first aid tape wrapped around her bruised knuckles. She pretended she didn't see Jax sitting in a chair just outside the office door.
"Tara," he called out to her as she passed. She didn't turn around. "Tara!" He sprinted after her, catching her by the elbow. "Tara." She looked at him, her eyes full of tears and guilt.
"Young man," Sean Knowles interrupted, his voice deep and weary. "I want you to stay away from my daughter." Jax let go of Tara's arm.
"I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't trying to hurt her. I'm Jax Teller, Tara's boyfriend, and I just-"
"I know who you are." Sean's voice was firm, cold. "And I know that since my daughter has been dating you, her grades have been slipping, she's flunking out of three different classes, she's been skipping school, and now she's getting into fights and getting suspended? You're a bad influence, Mr. Teller. And I don't want you anywhere near my daughter. Got it?" Jax looked as if he'd been kicked in the gut. He locked eyes with Tara, waiting for her to stand up to her father like she stood up to Wendy, to defend their relationship. But Tara simply bit her lip to stop herself from crying, and then kept walking. Her father followed her.
The bell rang and the halls filled with students, many of whom had seen the fight. They watched Tara with scandalous eyes. They mulled around Jax, but he was a statue, planted to the floor in the exact spot where his heart had been broken.