We pull up to the local fair the towns holding, there are cars parked all over the side of the road, four-wheelers, and even tractors. This is a new scene for my family and me, that’s for sure.

Mom gets out of the front of the car and smoothed her fine hair down. It’s split down the middle and put into a high ponytail. Her dress black and white, and skin tight.

“Could this place get any more redneck,” she sneers, putting on some white gloves.

“Just remember, dear, they have plenty of acres to buy,” Dad growls, adjusting his tie. This outing all business for him.

This is going to be humiliating, I can tell.

Mom glances over her shoulder and I notice the look in her eyes.

“River, I swear.” She scoffs, adjusting my dress. It’s three sizes too big and flows behind me when I walk. I love it. “Would it kill you to wear something that actually fits you and doesn’t look like you got it from a thrift shop?”

“It’s a fair, Mom,” I mumble. It smells like I would imagine a fair would smell like. Popcorn and the faint smell of fresh cotton candy twisting in the wind. Lively chatter around the way, and people of different sizes and shapes smiling at one another.

“Let’s go meet the townsfolks and see if we can’t make some friends, hmm?” Dad gives a tight-lipped smile, and by friends, he means potential buyers. I wish I would have come by myself.

Walking into the field mom has to pick her legs up with every stride, her Stilettos sticking into the soft grass. I bite my cheek to keep from laughing. She looks ridiculous.

“Hey, you must be the Addingtons!” A short man with a robust belly wearing overalls, steps in front of us. He’s shirtless with a hairy chest, and a farmer’s hat on his sweaty head.

“Uh, yes we are,” Mom hesitates, her face evident of disgust.

“Well nice to meet ya, I’m Farmer Corndog!” He chuckles, sweeping her gloved hand in for a shake. Mom squeals, and Father steps in between. I’m stuck on the fact they call him Corndog thought.

“If you will excuse us, we are trying to enjoy a family outing!” Dad’s pompous attitude causes my cheeks to warm. I really didn’t want to come out with them, I knew they would make a scene.

“Well, alright. Just make sure and check out the pie table. Best pies of the year!” He chuckles and waves someone else down walking behind us. He was so friendly I feel bad for him. My parents are going to eat this town alive.

Mom looks over her shoulder at me. “I love pie.” I shrug.

“You can’t be serious.” Mom’s eyes go wide as saucers.

“It’s like they found all the people of Walmart and stuck them at this fair,” Dad says a little too loudly. The ladies in the organic honey booth eyeing us with bitter eyes. They remind me of the fairies from Sleeping Beauty, their dresses in hat matching only different colors.

“Can we please just go try the pie,” I press along my parents’ backs, urging them away from wondering eyes.

Passing face painting, a bounce house, and beer chugging contest three tables lined up with pies greets us. They are so beautiful they look like something out of a cookbook.

“They smell amazing!” I smile, laying my hands on the blue plastic covering the tables.

“Oh, you must be the Addingtons!” A young blonde lady with hair so tall you’d think she spoke straight to God.

“That’s right.” I continue to gaze along the crusted lattice desserts.

“Oh you have to try my blackberry pie!” She grabs a plate and cuts into her pie. “I picked the berries myself!” she says with pride.

I hand a plate to my father, mother, and take one for myself. Scooping a spoonful into my mouth my tongue is greeted with a sweet buttery taste. I close my eyes and savor it. It’s homemade, not frozen from the store like mom gets. It’s amazing.

“Oh my, that’s horrible,” Mother says around a mouthful of half-chewed pie. My eyes snap open to her rude comment.

“Are you trying to kill us, these seeds are bigger than rocks!” Dad plops the plate down on the table, blackberry flying everywhere.

“I’m sorry!” The woman’s face turns bright red, and I can’t stand to be with my parents a minute longer. Turning on my heel, I notice the entire town looking at us. The band has stopped, the men drinking beer have set their cups down, and the kids stare from the screen in the bounce house.

“I’ll be in the car,” I mutter, passing my parents without a word. Quickly I weave through the crowd, feeling humiliated. Why did my parents come to this? They knew this would not be their scene. How did they expect to make any friends like this?

My eyes filling with warm tears, I round a big maple tree and smack into a familiar leather jacket.

“Warner!” I gasp.

He grabs onto my arms, lowering his head so our eyes meet. He smells good, like spice, and his hair is messy from the wind. He’s shirtless too, with low-rise jeans.

“You okay?”

“I—” Hesitating, I swallow. I don’t want to tell him about my parents. I don’t want him to meet them!

“Warner!” A man sitting on some hay bales spits in a Mountain Dew bottle, two guys behind him staring at us intently. Or should I say, glaring.

They all jump to their feet and stride our way.

“Tell your friend she needs to leave. Think her and her family have caused enough distress today.” His cold eyes and permanent frown line swing my way.

“Hey man, don’t talk to her like that!” Warner’s shoulder’s puff up. They are inches from each other’s face’s and I get a heavy feeling in my gut. I grab onto Warner’s sweaty arm.

“It’s ok. I was just leaving,” I spit, looking at the farmers as I say it. With my parents, nobody in this town will give me a chance and I don’t blame them. We’re a disaster waiting to happen.

They smile, their teeth stained yellow. Running my way back to the car my dress flows behind me. The smell of apples and green leaves swishing in the wind above me. This place could be really nice. It could be home if my home didn’t follow me that is

I didn’t say a word to my parents all the way home.

Getting up this morning I’m sore and really tired. My feet hit the plush carpet and I groan all the way to the closet to get a fresh pair of clothes. I get dressed in a maroon bralette and a boho style yellow dress with little flowers all over it. It will match my beaded sandals perfectly.

The dress is loose and comfy, and I head to the bathroom where I throw my long wavy hair up in a messy bun, not forgetting my favorite headband. The one Warner had. I cannot believe he kept it. I cannot believe he looked for me all spring either.

Drawing on some eyeliner and mascara, I decide that’s as good as it gets with the late night I had. Pressing my lips together I can feel butterflies bursting in my gut. I can’t wait to see Warner today. I wonder how much trouble he got in last night.

Putting on my bracelets, I head downstairs to the dining room table for breakfast, my mom and dad are already at the table eating. My father ate his slice of grapefruit already in his pressed suit, and my mother is blowing on her coffee, lost in thought as usual.

I opt for a glass of apple juice and grab a slice of toast sitting on a plate. Nobody talks, the room filled with tension and many things we want to say, but don’t.

Finishing my breakfast, I give a quick smile. I need to get out of here before they start in on me again.

“Bye,” I whisper.

“Bye dear, have a great day!” my mother hollers. Grabbing my backpack, my driver is parked out front waiting for me. I stop, I really need to talk to my parents about getting my license. Glancing over my shoulder, I think about going back inside, but after last night maybe now is not a good time.

Jogging down the steps, I climb in the back seat, my eyes on Warner’s house as we pass. I wonder if he’s gotten his truck yet.

Arriving at school, I get out and notice more eyes on me today than usual. Head down, my loose bangs fall in my eyes. Giggles, guys hollering and whistling, has me looking over my shoulder. Is it just me or is everyone over excited about something today?

Stepping into the hallway, I see people taking photos with their phones, and girls covering their mouth and laughing. I stop, frowning. What the hell is going on? Shoving through the crowd to get to my locker, I find polaroids of me in the locker room with no panties on stuck to my locker. A sign taped in between them saying:

We wear panties here, Hippie!

My chest constricts as if my heart has stopped beating. A rush of warmth spreads across my cheeks as these pictures show every inch of my intimate parts as I change in the girl's locker room. I suddenly feel ugly and embarrassed of my body. My body tingles with fear and dread, and I can’t breathe.

“No,” I whisper, stepping forward to cover the pictures. How long have these been up? How did a teacher not see these? Everyone keeps laughing and standing around with their phones raised recording my reaction. “No. No. No.” I start tearing the photos down, my eyes filling with tears with humiliation. All the photos pressed into my palm, I hang my head, my breathing erratic. Who did this? Who would do such a thing?

Turning around to face everyone, I start to become angry. “Who did this?” I demand, emotion choking my words.

Kellie and her crew are leaning up against some lockers on the other side of the hall staring right at me, and my eyes narrow in on them. It was her. Kellie. I know it. I bite my tongue to keep from crying, I won’t let her see me cry. That bitch!

Quickly I turn to shove the photos inside my locker, opening the flimsy metal door, a bunch of fabric flies at my face. Jumping back, I notice it’s a ton of assorted color panties.

I turn, and Kellie steps up.

“Yeah, we were going to donate them to the shelter, but we figured you needed them more.” She giggles to herself, and I realize she’s the fucking Devil. The mean girl of all mean girls.

I don’t know whether to cry, or fucking strangle her with her stained panties.

Axel, a football guy from the looks of his letterman jacket, strides up to me, his hands outstretched. He must be friends with Warner if he’s on the team. Getting closer to me, I think he’s going to try and hide me from the crowd, so I take a step up to him.

“I see why Warner called dibs on you and told everyone on the football team to stay away from you.” He chuckles, and my eyes widen. Warner did what? Axel grabs at my dress trying to pull it up. “Are you wearing panties today little Hippie?”

Tears slip down my cheeks, and my mouth drops with surprise.

“Stop it!” I shove at him, and he just laughs, trying to grab at my dress. I clench my thighs shut, slapping his hands away with all my might. Nobody is helping me, they’re just all standing back and recording and taking pictures. Where is a fucking teacher?

I’m suddenly shoved backward, nearly falling on my ass and the sound of bone and skin smacking causing the hair on my neck to rise.

Warner has Axel up against the lockers, Warner’s face flushed red, and his arm pressed across Axel’s neck. Warner is in Axel’s face which now has a busted lip, both of them breathing hard as they strain against one another.

“If you ever come near her again, I’ll make sure you never catch a football again,” Warner threatens. I gasp, my brows lifting.

“Warner, it was a joke!” Kellie tries to defend, pulling on Warner to let go of Axel. “Axel is your friend, are you going to let this slut in between all of us?”

“A joke? Showing private photos of me to the entire school is a joke?” I ask, my face scrunched in confusion.

Warner takes a step back, letting Axel free and points at Kellie with his finger. Her face sobers, her eyes flicking between Warner and mine. I’d almost gloat in the fact Warner came to my defense instead of hers, but I just… I want to get away from everyone staring at me right now. Wrapping an arm around my shoulders, Warner pulls my chest flush with his. He’s so warm, and I feel safe.

“Are you okay?” he whispers into the top of my head. I don’t know what to say. I can’t talk I’m in such shock. I’m so embarrassed, and I just want to hide. I feel like everyone is looking at me naked, that I’m naked. “Do you want to get out of here?

I nod, I nod so quickly I don’t care where we go as long as it’s away from here.

Pulling his jacket off, he throws it over my shoulders, the smell of him calming me, the weight of his arm along my shoulders grounding me as we head toward the doors. His jacket is like a cloak, suddenly making me feel braver with everyone staring at us.

“Warner!” Axel yells from down the hall, his voice distraught and angry. We don’t slow down as we push through the double doors of the school and make our way to the parking lot. He takes me to the passenger side of his truck and opens the door, helping me in. Jogging around to his side he climbs in behind the wheel and stills. His hair in his face, face drawn, he strangles the steering wheel.

“This is because of me, not you River.” He breathes heavily, shaking his head. He looks good today, even with the lack of sleep we both had. Though the side of his face looks redder than the other. His blond hair is clean and combed, his shirt distressed and showing his biceps in just the right way.

I swallow the lump in my throat and let the tears that I’ve been holding in run down my face.

“Why did you call dibs on me, why did you tell everyone to stay away from me?” He practically put a target on my back by telling Axel and everyone else to stay away from me. “I’m not yours, I never asked for you to do that Warner, you just made everything worse,” I cry.

“The day you lifted that little gypsy dress and sunk down on my cock you became mine, River!” His voice is sharp and demanding I can’t help but suck in a sharp breath and look at him. His blue eyes fierce and angry.

I don’t know what this is between us. This powerful magnetic connection, but it’s been there since day one and neither of us could break it. Maybe he’s right. I was his before either of us knew what was happening. A force of nature nobody can expect or walk away from. My eyes widen, maybe he’s the one holding the other end of the string on my ankle.

Reaching over he grabs my hand, and I can’t help but look down at it. Such a simple action, but intimate in its own right. His hand is warm and fits mine perfectly, if I think about it hard enough… I never want him to let go. He’s still wearing my bracelet.

I choke out a laugh and swipe at the tears. That’s when I notice my other hand gripping the photos.

“What are they?” Warner asks, gesturing toward the pictures. I don’t want to show him, but he’s already seen me naked before. He made me feel sexy though, these photos make me feel ugly. Like I need to cover up every piece of skin and hide in the corners of the hall.

Pulling them from my sweaty hand, I lay them on the seat in between us. He picks one up, and his jaw clenches before dragging his hand slowly down his face, he tosses it back onto the seat shaking his head.

“Jesus Christ,” he mutters.

In all my life, enemies or foes, I’ve never been so humiliated in my life. So frozen but burning with rage at the same time. I should have punched her. I should have flipped her off and acted like I didn’t care. I shake my head as we pull out of the parking lot. It’s so easy to say what I should have done now, but when it happened, I panicked. All I wanted to do was disappear, Warner made that happen.

White knuckling the steering wheel, all I can think about is turning around and beating the fuck out of Axel and giving Kellie a piece of my mind. He was my buddy. Out of everyone I told on the team to stay away, I thought he got it more than anyone. That motherfucker betrayed me. It makes me wonder what else he’s done behind my back. I mean, I expected this shit from Kellie, but him?

They both can fuck off a cliff for all I care. I’m sick of everyone in this town. Everyone except River.

Glancing over at her, she sits there looking amazing in her yellow dress, black tears smeared down her cheeks from her makeup, and sad eyes. I’ve never seen her so sad or scared. Is she right? Did me telling everyone to lay off do this to her?

“Having my body flashed to everyone walking past my locker, I felt… I felt that uncomfortable searing heat that I had when Brick tried to rape me,” she confesses.

I swallow, my Adam’s apple feeling like sandpaper in my throat. This is all my fucking fault.

I grab her hand, and teary eyes look up at me.

“Hey, I got you. You’re mine, and if they did see the pictures then … I’m going to have a lot of asses to beat for fucking looking,” I rasp.

“Thank you.” I nod, taking my eyes back to the road.

Where should I take her? We can’t go back to the tower, and I don’t know who is at her house. My dad’s at work though, I’ll take her to my place.

Pulling into my driveway, she looks at me confused.

“Let’s skip school today, and just hang out at my house,” I suggest, not really asking. She’s cool to hang out with, and having her all to myself for a day sounds great to me.

“Do you have Netflix?”

I smirk. “I don’t see us doing a whole lot of watching TV.”

Her eyes flash to mine, lust flushing her cheeks. I laugh, winking at her making her laugh along with me. I know she just went through some shit, but I can’t help my need to touch and have her.

Climbing out of the truck, we meet in the front, and I grab her hand again. She gives me a sideways glance, but I don’t acknowledge it. I don’t want to dig into whatever is in her head. I just want everyone to see this, to know she is mine and if you fuck with her… you fuck with me.

I unlock the front door and we step in. My house is smaller than hers and probably isn’t nearly as clean with it just being me and my dad. It’s simple. Kitchen, table. Black couch with a coffee table, and a TV on the wall with cables sticking out everywhere connecting to my Xbox.

“Sorry for the mess…” Raising my hand, I drop it, letting it rest against my thigh. I’m not really sure why I’m apologizing. This is me. This is how I live.

She shakes her head, her brows pinched together like I’m being ridiculous.

“For what? I love it. It’s… a home.”

“I mean, I guess it is. I just figured your house was clean and shit,” I chuckle.

“Oh, it is. My mother freaks with clutter. It’s so frustrating, and hard to live in at times.” She steps up to my picture hanging on the wall, she runs a finger along the glass collecting dust.

“It’d be nice if my parents stopped trying to clean up the dust and dirt and let us live like a normal family with normal grit and grime.” She gives me a glance and I can’t help but think about what Sheriff Randall said last night about her family being criminals. “I guess that would make us too vulnerable though, huh?” She raises her left shoulder.

“So… where’s your room?”

My dick twitches with that question, and I have to bite back my smile. “Down the hall.” I point.

Giving me a devilish little smile, she turns away and heads down the dark hallway. She finds my room without error, pushing the door open slowly.

Stepping inside she inspects it. The small bed with the sheets and blankets spread everywhere. Clothes thrown all over the floor, and a dresser with so much shit on it, I can’t pick anything up without something falling over.

“It smells like you in here,” she murmurs. Stepping up behind her, I slip my nose up the nape of her neck. The scent of lavender and spice making me inhale a bigger breath.

“I want it to smell like you,” I whisper into the back of her head. Barely turning her head, she leans into me. She’s my refuge, my safe place and without her next to me I just feel fucking lost.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, I want it to smell like the sweat on your body, the wetness dripping down your legs. I want this room to be nothing but us, River.” Circling my hips, I let my hard cock explain the rest.