Wowwwwww I feel like a total jerk for leaving ya'll hanging so loong. It's been crazy busy around here. But Hap and Emilia are back:) Quick note, things get pretty good next chapter...little love action for ya;) hahah and btw all the long passages in parenthesis are flashbacks. Hope ya like it, review pleaseeeee3

Emilia was pretty sure all of Charming was at Fun Town. Gemma and Clay had been taking her since she was little kid, and in all the years she'd gone, she didn't think she'd ever had as much fun.

She giggled as she watched Tig try and eat cotton candy, and failing miserably as blue tufts got stuck to his face and feathery pieces floated around him and into his hair.

Jax tried, and failed to knock down bottles with a tennis ball, and finally whipped the ball so hard he knocked down half the stuffed animals on the wall. For a moment all the stress and worries, and sadness she felt about Abel, and the absence of Hap melted away and was replaced by the warm feeling of her family surrounding her.

She walked through the rest of the fair talking animatedly to Jax when he stopped. Elliot Oswald, his wife Karen and Daughter Tristan were walking towards them, Karen eyeing them from behind her sunglasses. She and Tig shared an unusual grin. The Oswalds were uptight, over-riched, and stuck up. Well at least Karen was. Emilia's eyes fel on Tristan. She still had a baby face, sensitive and soft. She was the type of girl who's emotions played acros her face like a film strip. She was pretty, light brown hair deep brown eyes, and dressed casually. Far off from Emilia's jet black hair, short shorts and black rhinestoned tank. But Emilia smiled.

"Hey."

Tristan smiled back

"Hi."

Karen made a show of leading Tristan away and Emilia saw Gemma shake her head.

"You'd think with all that money they'd pay someone to remove the sticks shoved up their asses."

Emilia sipped absently at her water as she and Gemma strolled through fun town. It was dark now, and the bright lights shone harshly against the black of the surrounding woods. She got lost in them for a moment, until a scream snapped her out of her reverie.

Karen Oswald was hurrying frantically towards them, eyes wild, screaming tristans name.

This couldn't be good.

Emilia sighed and rolled over. The poor kid. Tristan Oswald was only thirteen, 5 years younger than Emilia herself. She couldn't imagine the way she was feeling. Hell, how anyone could be victim to that and not lose their mind, she would never know.

Hap sighed thinking about the quick phone call he had with Tig earlier. Thirteen year old girl raped? Damn. World of hurt for those parents. Hell, he could only imagine if it had been his girl. Er...Emilia.

Hap threw the cigarette to the ground and glared at the other parents gawking at him from behind the windows of their mini vans. He had never liked school, and hated it even more now that he had to see the kid go through it.

The front doors opened and kids poured out like water out a broken damn. Emilia was easy to find, he long black hair glinting almost purple blue in the sun. She hurried towards him, grinning brightly.

" Hi Hap! I thought mom was picking me up today?"

"You complainin?" He said, lowering his shades a fraction of an inch so he cold peer at her over the lenses. She shook her head vigorously.

"No of course not!"

"Then get on kid. Place makes my skin crawl."

She smiled again and jumped eagerly on the back of his bike, slipping the helmet over her head. The bike rumbled to life beneath her and a fizz of excitement ripped through her veins as Hap rumbled out of the parking lot and all thoughts of school were washed from her mind. Hap was different than riding with her dad, or Jax or even Juice or Koz. He wasn't as cautious, and afraid to hurt her, because he knew what he could do. He took turns fast and wide and revved his bike making her squeal as they ripped up the side of the highway weaving in and out of cars.

About halfway home Hap realized he was out of cigarettes. He pulled into the parking lot of the little exxon gas station and got off his bke, handing Emilia money. He knew she would go and get her favorite, a bottle of Arizona Iced Tea, the fourth one from the front just like she always had. He walked toward the counter as she disappeared to the back of the store. He clocked the beat up civic that rumbled into the lot and the punk ass kids, complete with eyebrow rings, and ripped up girl pants that entered the store and headed towards the back. He handed the money to the cashier, a girl who looked to be around 16 or 17 only a few years older than Emilia herself and saw her frown.

"Uhm..sir your daughter-"

Hap turned and saw Emilia back away from the freezer, eyes wide and one of the punks follow her. Anger raged and bubbled in him as he stalked across the front of the store and down the aisle, nearly running into her. She spun to face him eyes wide, and frightened looking more like the sad little girl she had when her mother had dropped her at the clubhouse.

He moved his black gaze to the kids who were grinning wickedly at her.

"They botherin you?"

"They tried to...touch me." Her voice cracked as she finished the sentence.

He closed the distance between them like lighting and was on the kid before he had even seen Hap coming.

"Happy!" Emilia screamed shrilly, as Hap grabbed the kid by the front of his tight black t-shirt and punched him hard in the nose, feeling it crack sickeningly beneath his fist. The kids friend who was gangly and brace faced backed away fearfully hands held up in surrender as Hap dropped the kid to the floor and started towards him.

"Hey man we didn't mean-Argh!"

He didn't have time to finish because Hap had picked him up and tossed him into a shelf, the kid and the display coming down with a giant crash. He grabbed Emilia by the arm and steered her forward taking care to tread on the broken nosed kids fingers as he passed him.

He pitied the kids first boyfriend.

He smiled in spite of himself as he remembered the way Clay had patted him on the back and said good work, when he had shown up at the clubhouse with Emilia and bloody knuckles.

He realized a few moments later that he had scrolled through his phone and was toying with the call button, the little light up bar on Emilia's name. What the hell was going to call her for? Oh hey...How're things going since the last time we talked and I was a total douche?

He sighed and snapped his phone shut, leaning back on his bed and closing his eyes, sleep coming heavy to him. He drifted off in a haze, with a soft vision of Emilia's face floating before him.

He was so screwed.

Emilia wondered absently as she watched her mother console Tristan if there was any way she could help. Sure, Gemma had gotten her to open up about the rape but that just put the story out there. Gemma stared pointedly at her as she left the room to find Karen, leaving Emilia and Tristan alone. Tristan smiled timidly.

" You know, it will get better. It may hurt now, but time will heal it and one day it will only make you stronger." Emilia said, gazing at her. She nodded.

"I'm just afraid that no one's gonna want someone... Like me." Tristan shuddered and sank under her blanket.

" Yeah... I'm in touch with that emotion."