1965

EVERY BOY IN COAL CREEK, WEST VIRGINIA WANTED A PIECE OF DAWN HARPER, BUT SINCE SHE NEVER GAVE THEM THE TIME OF DAY THE RUMOR OF HER BEING A CHRISTIAN PRUDE SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE THROUGHOUT THE HALLWAYS OF THE OUTDATED HIGH SCHOOL. That didn't stop her from being popular among her peers. Every guy wanted to be with her, and every girl wanted to be her. It was no surprise the school still treated her like an actress on the silver screen. Really, who could blame them? She was beautiful.

Arvin hated the attention she received. He hated how she would take the boys' comments in their class and not do anything about it. He hated the looks she would receive when her back was turned in the cafeteria. It killed him to know that he couldn't do anything unless he wanted the girl to get mad at him.

No one in the school knew about Arvin and Dawn's little friendship. Maybe if they did, they would all leave her the hell alone. All of them knew what Arvin was capable of.

It was towards the middle of the fall, and Dawn moved in with her grandmother the summer before. Her father sold their house in Tennessee before he was shipped to some training camp for Vietnam.

She remembered the day her father and her became residents of the small town. Reminiscing the moment the weather was cold for a summer day, though the humidity from the rain they had just received was not helping. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail with a scarf tied around it to keep her neck cool as she moved boxes from her father's car up the stairs to her newfound room in her grandmother's home.

To say she was exhausted was an understatement. They spent the whole morning driving, and the rest of the day, they were unloading and unpacking their things. Dawn's arms were sore, and she wanted nothing more than to be sitting in the cafe down the street from her apartment and sipping a strawberry milkshake, bopping her head to the Beatles playing from a jukebox.

As soon as she set the box onto the bed, she fell back next to it, letting out a deep sigh. Her eyes followed the beams of light; the sun was portrayed on the ceiling from the lace curtains that blew in the wind in front of the open window. Dawn played with one of the buttons on her sleeveless flannel shirt, thinking of nothing but her mother. If she genuinely was happy where she was and if she would be proud of the decision she and her father made when moving in with her grandmother.

Creaks from the old wood echoed in the hallway, diverting Dawn from her thoughts. She sat up propped on her elbows, searching for the sound source that came closer to the doorway of the room. She knew it was her father from how heavy the footsteps became as they trailed closer.

"You seemed to have no problem moving boxes," Jonathan stated as his eyes explored the cluttered room the young girl now called home.

Dawn rolled her eyes at her father's playful comment, "Might as we'll unload everything at once."

He raised his eyebrows at her obvious statement, "I can see that."

His hands were in the pocket of his plank trousers, and his white sleeves rolled up his arm. Even though he should be used to the heat due to his endless training days, he still died from the heat.  "Don't you have to train on days when it is hotter than Hell outside? I think Grandma is going to be cursing you and your sweat stains when it comes to her doing your laundry."

He chuckled at his daughter's comment. It's been a while since the two have laughed. The past few months have been so gloomy they didn't know what to think of humor. "you know she acts the same way when she has to wash your jeans."

"A lady should never wear something so tacky," Dawn mimicked her Grandmother, "I swear, Dawn, one of these days you are going to show up with a rat's nest for hair and daze out of your mind on some psychedelic."

Jonathan chuckled at his daughter's words, "She swears you'll be the death of us both, but I think she'll drive me to the cuckoos nest before that happens."

Dawn's smile fell, and she got up from her comfortable spot in her bead, giving her father the cold shoulder. She moved one of the boxes on the chest of draws records to the floor and opened the box it used to be sitting on labeled decor.

"Oh, come on, Dawn, don't do that to me," Jonathan begged his daughter, who didn't want to express her feelings about their unusual situation.

"When we were in the car earlier, I asked when you were leaving; you didn't say. I know it's soon, and I am so scared that when you walk out of that door, you won't come back. It's been months, daddy, and all you do is avoid the questions being asked. Important questions. That I just want to know the answers to. I'm not some little girl who needs sugar coating. I need the truth. Some clarity even. You chose to leave me, and that wasn't a choice. I forgive you for that, but I want to know what is going on. Not some, oh, well, I don't know yet, or you'll have to wait and see. I need to know."

Jonathan stood baffled at his daughter's confrontation. The truth of the matter was he was scared she would find the truth too hard to handle if she got mad at him to apply to be the first string of men. How was she going to take the news of him heading out as soon as she starts school in the fall? He knew she deserved to know. "By the end of the summer, they will have a group of men together."

Dawn stood up, averting away from the positions she recently was in on the bed. She rushed to her father, wrapping her arms around his waist, digging her head into his ribs as he towered over her. He returned the action placing a hand on her head and the other on her back. Tears from her eyes soaked her father's shirt.

He moved his arms to her shoulders, pushing her away slightly so he can look at her, "We'll buy a house when I get back, okay, darlin'. You can go to university..." He trailed off, looking at the old flannel sitting on top of a pile of clothing on the bed. "Just don't get into any trouble."

She scrunched her face at her father's comment, placing one hand on his wrist. She looked at his eyes, trying to find what he was looking at. She saw the item of clothing she borrowed last Thanksgiving. She smiled at her father, squeezing his wrist for reassurance, "You don't have to worry about that, daddy."

"Not having to worry is what I'm afraid of. One thing I've learned is, don't let anything get in the way of what you believe in and give any son of a bitch the punishment they deserve. Especially when it comes to the ones you love." He placed his hand on Dawn's cheek, smiling at her. She wrapped her arms around him again, breathing in his scent.

Coming back for eh dimly lit hallways as she was reminiscing the moment, she felt a hand at the small of her back, making her grip the textbook in her hand tighter. She looked over shoulder to the black letterman jacket, practically every boy in the school wore. She looked forward at the grey tone of the metal in the inside of her locker with eyes widen.

"Hey beautiful," the thick southern voice that brought chills to the back of her neck, causing her hair to stand up. She knew if she brushed it off, no harm would be done.

She turned, being face to face to Tommy Matson, the boy Arvin beat up a little under two years ago. He was the only one with money in the town, with his father running the small law that hardly anyone used. Dawn knew about his infatuation with her, and she wishes the dumb ass could take a hint.

"What do you want, Tommy?" Her words came out annoyed, and she wanted to use everything in her to push him back. He was relatively close to her taste.

He gave her a sly smile, "Rumor is the prettiest girl in school doesn't have a date to the bonfire tonight."

Dawn closed her locker and walked past him, "Maybe you should ask her then."

"That's exactly what I'm doing." He sped up next to her stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. Unknown to them, a pair of brown eyes caught sight of the two of them walking together. If looks could kill Tommy, Matson would be on the ground in a pool of blood and still receiving hits yet again from Arvin.

Dawn hummed at the boy's comment, not show the slightest interest.

"Oh, come one, baby girl. What's a guy supposed to do? I'm the only one on the football team without a date, and I've got my eyes on you," he tried to explain himself, but the comment came out poorly to Dawn.

"I'm sure there are a plethora of girls that want to be your sat. It seems pretty selfish to have your eyes on just one," Dawn state blankly, still trying to shake him off, but it wasn't working.

Tommy scrunched up his face at her comment, "Now I don't know what petoria means but those other girls are nothing compared to you." She turned to go to her classroom, which was on the side. Timmy was looming by her. He stood in front of her looking down. He tucked a hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her face, and he leads over just so his mouth hovered over her ears, "You going to go with me, and after, I'm going to show you a good time. I know a spot just-"

"Get the hell away from her, Matson." Dawn heard from behind her through the thoughts that scrambled her brain in fear and hopelessness. She looked back through her glassy eyes to see Arvin, and fist clenched, ready to throw a punch any opportune moment at the boy still lingering in front of her.

Tommy coward up at the voice of Arvin, still remembering the recovery he had to go through after he beat him to a pulp for bullying his younger sister. His eyes flickered from Dawn to Arvin, not believing the girl would give the boy with rather intense anger issues the time of day. He gulped sharply before walking away, feeling the stares of his peers on his back like daggers.

The two only exchanged looks and nothing more in the midsts of the whispers they could hear from students standing close to them. Dawn quickly turned to head into her next class as soon as she could not looking forward to what Arvin will say when he drops her off after school today. Until then, she stayed sulking in her seat in the back of her biology class, preventing the tears of humiliation from falling onto the pages of chapter 12.

A few hours later, the pair were sitting in Arvin's car, waiting for Lenora to finish her daily visit to her mother's grave. Dawn sat next to Arvin in her cheer uniform with a pleated skirt and oversized sweater over her fitted knit blouse. She had a novel in her hands, per usual. Today it was Jane Astin's Emma. She was using the moment not to pay attention to him as the tension between the two was high since the three teenagers got into the car after a long school day.

Arvin manages to steal a few glances at the girl. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her bangs were curled to be lifted off her face. The look she wore was so superficial, and he knew the facade the girl put on was not Dawn. She turned on an act for the rest of the school because it was expected of her to do so. Arvin can see right through that shit. The perfect example being correctly shown today. His blood boiled at the thought of the things Tommy Matson whispered in her ear or the way his hand lingered on her at any possible moment. Arvin loathed the Matson boy for being able to be that close to her.

Arvin so desperately wanted to tell her she didn't need any of that. She deserves attention but not in the way she was receiving it. He knew if he brought it up, it would ruin the moment. He could watch her forever if that were an option.

Unfortunately, he knew she would glance over at him at one point and ask why he was staring. Then ask why the hell he would humiliate her like that in front of the school. Arvin didn't have the answer she wanted to the questions she hasn't asked. Truth be told, the boy had fallen fast for the Harper girl in the year of knowing her. It pained him to see the way she crumbled at the news of her father going missing to the even more vulgar letter she received to confirmed he had been killed in action.

The night she received the fateful news, she begged her grandmother to let Arvin stay the night. Pauline hesitated at first but then gave in, making it a strict rule for him to stay on the couch and not to go pasted the first step that leads up to the hallway that contained the doorway to Dawn's bedroom. Unknowing to the older woman, the two teenagers managed to finesse her guidelines, and she found them the next morning sleeping beside each other on a palette Dawn made for them. The two were far from each other, and Pauline thought of her late husband.

Weeks went by, and Arvin found himself climbing the old oak tree just outside of her window if she ever called him late in the night just to make sure she would rest soundly throughout the night. The two have never felt the consequences of Dawn's grandmother finding out the boy came in, but they didn't care because she trusted the two. There was the rare occasion he would wake to Dawn's head nuzzled against his shoulder, breathing softly with her eyelids fluttering in her sleep. He hated to move her from such a comfortable position, but he knew he would never hear the end of it from Pauline.

"Are you going to continue staring, or am I going to have to give a reason you shouldn't have defended me today," She said as she continued to read the pages of the beloved novel.

"What did Tommy say to you? I know that son of a bitch ain't up to no good when it comes to girls," he firmly started trying not to raise his voice, knowing Lenora would be done soon and he didn't want to hear her quote Proverbs one more time he might just about lose his mind.

She looked up from her book, finally making eye contact with him. Her eyes were glassed over like they were hours before in the hallway, but before she could say anything. Lenora opened the door to the back seat, slipping in, wrapping her coat tighter to her body letting out a breath of air that was visible due to the cold weather. She was utterly oblivious to the mood the two teenagers had in the car as they quickly turned away from each other, looking forward.

Taking a look in the rearview mirror, Arvin's eyes shifted to his sister, giving her a little nod, "How's it?"

"Fine, thanks," Lenora said sweetly, looking up at him reassuringly.

"It alright if I drop you off. Dawn needs a ride to the pep rally tonight. Unless you want to join."

Dawn was confused at how calm he was keeping his composure. Lenora looked between the two, still not sensing anything off about the pair because the way they were acting seemed familiar to the girl, "I'm al' right. Thank you, Arvin."

Nothing was said between the three of them on the way to Russell's home. The day was cloudy and cold, perfect game day weather, her father would say. Dawn initially didn't want to be a cheerleader, but she needs something to take her mind off of things. Living life through a superficial smile seemed like a good idea to Harper Girl.

Labor's left the rusted car quickly, not letting Dawn say goodbye or convince her to hang in it any longer. She didn't blame her, though it was extra cold for an October day.

While Arvin pulled out, the tension in the air became higher as the car edged closer to the rally. If Dawn could miss the event, she could, but dropping a commitment made her have a guilty feeling.

"Nothing is going on between Tommy and I, and you should know that," Dawn finally said as the car inched its way closer to the school.

Arvin clenched his jaw as he turned into the school parking lot. His knuckles were growing white from him, gripping the steering wheel of the car. He knew that's the truth. He was just terrified at the thought of her spending another fleeting minute with those boys. Dawn noticed his actions but being clueless about what to say, and she decided to get out of the car. Arvin followed, leaning against the top with an arm depending on the door. Looking at the girl, gather her things quickly.

He reached into his pocket, lighting a cigarette staring at her hair, moving to the rhythm of the wind. She stood up straight, looking at him dead in the eye. The look told her she wouldn't enjoy the ride home with him. Slamming the door, she walked off to the gym entrance looking back at him.

__

Pep rally's in cold creak were as dull as watching a game of chess being plaid by two older gentlemen in an elderly home. This year, however, they seemed to be spunkier, thank usual. Maybe, it was because it was the big homecoming game or the alcohol running through the football team's veins. The air seemed thicker. To Dawn, it was the look Arvin gave her as he puffed the first but of smoke that came from the cigarette that hung from his mouth.

Between all of the exclamations and yells her classmates expressed, she managed to drown out when glancing across the fire meeting the hothead boy's eyes she managed to have her mind go to and she couldn't stand the thought of him being mad at her.

Little did she know he wasn't mad at her. He never could be mad at her. She was too perfect for that. He noticed her staring back at him through the flames and sank deeper into the crowd of his peers.

After Dawn looked away for just a moment, he was gone. They were making her worry more about their encounter before she entered the gym. It was hard to enjoy being the center of attention for Dawn, and she was too immersed in thought that she didn't notice the stares from some of the football team members. The sick bastards made a bet on who could get into the girls pants first that night.

The night continued to be ablaze and started coming to an end as the roar of the fire turned into a flicker of just smoke and ash. Dawn talked to June, one of the most decent girls on the team when the football team started to approach uniformed girls.

"Hello, Ladies, y'all are looking mighty fine in your outfits tonight," Tommy said as he approached Dawn and June.

June blushed at the voice of the boy. She was shy and quiet kind. No one expected her to be a cheerleader, but here she was, high ponytail and pompoms in hand. "Thanks, Tommy."

Dawns laughing demeanor changed, and it was noticeable to the Mantson boy, "Why the long face Dawn? I just gave you two pretty girls a compliment. Junebug."

The other girl lurked up at the nickname, "Yes."

"You and Dinwoodie been comfortable the past week. Rumor has it he asked you to be his date tonight," Tommy explained snuggly, looking at the girl across dorm Dawn.

June gave a bashful look at Gene Dinwoodie, another one of the boys Arvin beat. Rumor has it he slammed a car hood onto his face while the engine was still on. It would explain why one eye was dropper in the other, and his lip had a scar on it that made him look like he was smelling something vulgar all the time. Dawn didn't like him either and knew that June could do so much better. Too bad Dawn could say anything else to her because June was already walking to where the scar-faced boy was sitting.

Whipping her head in the direction of Tommy, he inches closer to her as the smell of alcohol radiating off of him becoming more potent the more he made his way into her personal space. Dawn quickly crossed her arms across her chest, beyond happy because she was wearing an oversized sweater. Unfortunately, she was wearing a short plead skirt with only white tights and bloomers that were more of an extra set of undergarments underneath.

As her back hit the school building wall, Tommy leaned over her with his mouth close to hers. "Tommy, back away before you do something stupid," she managed to get out through her mouth as she focused way too hard on the smell.

"Why would I do something stupid when this is the best decision I've ever made," he said as he moved his hand to the back of her head, gripping onto her hair pressing a sloppy kiss against her lips.

The taste was so gross she felt vomit make its way up to her mouth. She took her knee and lodged it in between his legs as hard as she could. Tommy fell over in pain in front of dawn, groaning loudly at the immense feeling growing in his lower region. Hurling to the side as chunks flew in the opposite direction of where Dawn stood as she inched further away from him before fell to the ground, still hunched over.

She breathed in and out quickly, watching Tommy pass out slowly from the pain feeling something grab her hand. She ripped it out of the unknown person's grip, looking over to see who had the nerve to mess with her in the distressed state she was in.

She was met with the familiar brown eyes of the Russell boy. She wanted more than anything to leap into his arms and cry till she couldn't. That wasn't an option being her was still pissed off at her. He looked over his shoulder to see the boy asleep. He raised an eyebrow at sight but knew the Matson boy was probably up to no good to be in that position.

He pulled her away from the scene, already knowing Tommy wasn't the only one with cruel intentions. "We need to go. I'll follow you to get your stuff."

"I can handle myself," she spat harshly, pulling away from him.

"Clearly," Arvin said dryly, looking back at the limp boy. "But there is no way in hell I'm letting you alone with those drunk sons of bitches."

"Fine," she huffed as he followed her to the gym entrance that contained her bag.

Looking around at the darkroom that was musty and old with creaks filling the empty gym everywhere the two stepped, Arvin thought to himself all the missed opportunities he never had the chance to face. Extracurricular activities were never something Arvin thought about because of how tight money was for the four of them, and he would always worry about finding a job that could spare a few extra bucks. He was ready for graduation to work longer shifts for the contracting company that fixed the mines right outside of Coal Creek. Safer than going into the mines themselves, and it paid well if done full time.

The boy then wondered what the girl had planned for after graduation. She's heard her talk about attending college, and with her father gone, he would think it was something she had in mind considering it was part of his wishes. Maybe if she weren't so distressed at the moment, he would ask her.

"AR." The Russell boy scrunched his eyebrows at the new name. "Let's get the hell out of here before you humiliate me again." She tried to mumble the last part, but Arvin heard it and felt a ping in his chest.

His jaw clenched harder than before he dropped her off for the rally. He followed her watching her hair that was on be fixed bounce loosely. It was strange to him because it managed to last the whole day. Why would it be falling only now? Stepping in front of the car, she pulled on the handle with anxiousness. He moved to her side, placing the key into the handle opening it up before glancing back at her. Dawn looked down quickly.

He made his way to the other side, cringing at the sound of her quickly entering the vehicle and slamming the door, making the nerving sound from earlier. He huffed, know whatever the hell happened, Matson already got what he deserved from her be she didn't deserve the monsters he left her to deal with.

He sat into the car as Dawn quickly wiped the tears that streamed barely halfway down her face. He didn't give her one glance as he backed out of the school parking lot. He turned on the radio to sound out the strum of a guitar streamed through the old speakers making the girl feel more comfortable.

Arvin made a turn that seemed unfamiliar. "Arvin, I want to go home." He pulled over by a few trees, and she looked at him. He stopped abruptly. "Arvin."

He looked over at her after he placed the shift into park, "I'm not letting go home. Not after the shit Matson pulled. You were able to handle it, but you have been actin' fucked up, and I want to know why."

"I'm not doing this right now," she shot back. "Just drop it."

"I'm not doin' it," he twisted in his seat to face her, "Not until you tell me what happened. I always have to pick up your shit."

"My shit," Dawn yelled back, clearly shocked by his comment, "You know what, Arvin, I'm so tired of your shit. All you do is complain. I didn't even ask you to be there today, so I don't know why you bother."

"Maybe if you didn't act like those stuck-up bitches you hang out with, we wouldn't be having this problem." Arvin slides back further in his seat, crossing his arms like a little kid. "Or bein' all over the football dicks."

"Are you Jealous?" She glared at him sharply. "Because if you are, then you clearly don't know me at all."

"I ain't jealous. I don't trust 'em."

"I believe the feeling is mutual with the shit you pulled on them a few years ago," she scoffed, shaking her head.

"I did that because if you saw what they were doing to Lenora, you would have done the fucking same," He raised his voice higher than before.

"Just because I don't know the whole story doesn't make it fucking right to beat three guys with a fucking crowbar. Why did you do it, Arvin?"

"What'd you do to make Matson pass out?"

"We aren't talking about me. I asked you something first."

She could hear his teeth grinding as he clenched his jaw tighter. His eyes narrowed at her, "Because I did what I had to do for the ones I love. I would do the same for Grandma, Erskil..." There was a pause in the boy's words like he was contemplating whether he should say next. "You."

She changed her face into a microexpression of confusion, but it quickly turned back into frustration like before, "Don't fucking waste your time on me."

"Why," he was still talking in a heated tone he was using before.

"It usually doesn't end well," She stated blankly, "you can tell that from what's happened in the last two fucking years." Dawn glanced over at him for a second, "I kneed him in the fucking balls."

"That fucker deserved it," he laughed harshly.

She glared at him, "That doesn't give you the fucking right to make a scene in front of the school."

"You know I only did that because he has no right to talk to you like that-"

The girl cut him off, "You don't even know what he said, Arvin."

"I know whatever it was, and he had no fucking right."

"Why do you care so much?"

"You know why," Arvin grumbled.

"No, I fucking don't. You want me to read your mind like I'm Superman or some shit. You are always hovering over me like you don't think I've been living the past seventeen years of my life just fine. So answer my question, AR, why do you care?"

Just like that, Arvin's lips landed on Dawn's. All of the tension made its way out of the car and was replaced by a haze of bliss. She didn't expect him to make a move so bold, but she was not complaining because the feeling of his lips on hers was something she never wanted to get rid of. This thought was as quick as the heated kiss causing her to pull away, struggling to gain her composure.

Wide-eyed looking at the dark-eyed boy, she breathes heavily, trying to come up with an excuse that could make his actions seem uncalled for and utterly unneeded for the two teens.

Arvin's face fell when he saw her face, and he knew he fucked up the situs even more. "Fuck," he hissed, "I didn't mean to- Shit. You know I would never intent-."

His words cut off by her quickly grabbing his face and kissing him upon his lips that were softer than his attempt before. He had to say he never expected to like the taste of mint, but Dawn's lips reminded him of a chilly winter's day that made even the harshest soul melt at the sight of snowflakes that were visible to the human eye. Falling on one's lashes and even landing perfectly on your sleeve to make the entirely unique icy precipitation observable.

Envisioning the thought of the snowflakes making their way onto Dawn's lashes made Arvin feel the same way he did when they sat in front of the fire a little over a year ago. The pit of his stomach fluttering and sinking deeper into her spell made him only want her more.

Dawn was also in a state of euphoria. Kissing Arvin again wasn't just a case of sudden adrenaline, as most would call it. Instead, she was hanging on to the hope he's given her the past year and making the feeling grown into more than their friendship could reach. She'd be lost and unable to find her way back.

It felt strange when their lips left each other. Dawn's eyes fluttered open, and she looked at Arvin, smiling. Her hand that was on his cheek before now rested on the back of his head, playing with his hair on the nape of his neck. "I didn't think you had the balls to do it again."

Arvin chuckled at the girl's comment. This is the first time he has genuinely had a conversation with the girl. He didn't know what this moment was. He just knew he didn't want to let her go, and she wanted to do the same for him. Pulling closer to him, she leaned her head on his shoulder before looking back into his eyes, moving the stubborn stray hair out of his face. It was a picture in her mind she didn't want to let go of.

Before you assume Dawn thinks she needs Arvin like she needs air, she doesn't. Going through grief is something no person should go through alone, and Dawn would not be where she is mental without the comfort Arvin gave her. There were still times Arvin knew she needed to be alone, and he also knew she wasn't always going to need him. She wanted him to be a part of the shit show of her life. Why no hold on to a few feelings of happiness Arvin introduced to her?

a/n: i updated, wow, look at me. i'll be inactive the next two weeks because i have final exams for the semester but expect more of arvin and dawn soon:) love you guys and thank you so much for all the support i have received for the book

p.s. this is unedited so excuse the mistakes