1963

*assault warning, its nothing major but i felt the need to warn my readers before hand

THE HEAT OF THE SUN BAKED THE CALICHE ROAD THAT LEFT DUST ON DAWNS RED AND WHITE SNEAKERS AS SHE WALKED DOWN THE PATH THAT NEVER SEEMED TO END. The road was in the middle of a flat field that was now growing cotton but in its earlier stages of the plant leaving a sea of green as far as the eye can see making the dirt field look more like a prairie with a forest of trees huddle around it. Sweat glazed her forehead causing her bangs to stick against it ever which way. The girl began to become irritated having to wipe the droplets every thirty seconds making it seem out of habit to prevent the salty liquid from stinging her eyes.

The weather was the least of her worries at the moment she was already late to meet her grandmother for her afternoon bible lesson, but it didn't bother Dawn. The older woman asked her to walk to the general store at the end of their two and a half-mile road to grab them some baking soda and a half-pound of salt. The young girl was thankful the younger boy working at the register bagged her items twice otherwise she would probably have to do another errand because her hands were so damp she had to switch the brown bag from one hand to the other to prevent the material from soaking up the sweat that rested on her skin.

She congratulated herself for deciding to wear a dress today because it was the only thing that was keeping her cool at the moment. The fabric brushed just an over the knee and flapped as she continued to walk. Her eyes searched the bright blue sky that had very little clouds scattered about it making even the shadiest spot seem too hot.

There was an intersection coming up that was connected to a poorly paved road that Dawn had not had the chance to explore. The road was hardly driven on and disappeared into the forest at the far end of the field. It was usually used by the residents that lived close to her grandmother and the occasional cop car.

Dawn loved visiting her grandmother. The country was a breath of fresh air compared to her parent's apartment in Memphis, Tennessee. She didn't love the hot humidity though. That was definitely something she could live without. Though this visit was a little too long for Dawn's taste.

The sound of an engine in the faint distance could be heard as she stopped at the end of the field looking over to see a rusted chevy driving up the road. It wasn't going very fast, at least 40 mph, and had a boy driving it. He made eye contact with her making Dawn's heart stop. Even though it was for a split second she managed to take a picture of his face. The thing that stood out the most was the shiner that was forming below his eye that could have easily been unnoticeable due to the shadow that his cap cast over his face. He had a girl sitting next to her but Dawn didn't pay much attention to what she was doing. Her eyes followed the car as it went by and she followed it with her eyes watching him turn into the road right before the trees.

After her in counter with the boy, if you would even call looking at someone an interaction, the walk home was almost a blur as she rushed down the road to her grandmother's house coming inside out of breath and face glazed in sweat. She closed the door behind her quickly breathing heavily and sweat more than she was before.

"My dear, what took you so long," her grandmother exclaimed as she walked out of the small kitchen and into the family room that contained an old beat-up couch with a coffee table her late grandfather made and a big old radio at the front.

"That boy doesn't know how to count," she explained in a flat tone. "I also had to wait longer to cross the intersection."

Her grandmother grabbed the bag before handing Dawn a glass of tap water. "Your mother called while you were out. We can move our bible study tomorrow, and you can come to church with me tonight."

Dawn walked over to her grandmother giving her a sympathetic smile when hearing the sadness in her tone. Her heart ached for everything Pauline Ward has been through, from losing her eldest son in the war to her husband dying of a stroke. One more death was something that was always a possibility, but she seemed to find the lord and sought refuge through her warn leather bible.

I didn't tell you too much about Dawn's life because it's something you'll learn along the way. Her story begins in Johnson City High located in Tennessee. Her mother was visiting her cousin Renae Thompson and they just attended the annual rivalry football game with Knoxville. After the event, the two girls went to the cafe downtown to meet up with some of Renae's friend. The group was a giggling mess about an hour into their little get-together and some other teens from the game have started to filled the small cafe.

The air became more lively when the football team walked in hollering and stumbling in following the star quarterback, Johnathon Harper. He and a couple of the boys made their way over to the table where Caroline Ward was sitting. One of the girls in a cheerleading uniform jumped up meeting one of the boys next to Johnathon with a kiss.

But neither one of the teenagers noticed, because the moment Johnathon's green eyes met Caroline's blue ones the world seemed to stop. He promised himself he wanted to know everything about her, and that was what he planned to do.

Looking at the girl with a bashful smile, something that was new for not only him but most of his peers. He continued to stare at the girl while the others around him continued to banter back and forth in conversation. It took everything in him to urge himself to speak to the her, "I'm sorry miss, but I have to ask. What is a dame like yourself doing in a cafe in the backroads of Tennessee?"

Everyone who was around the table stopped what they were doing before turning the girl with strange looks. She even earned a few glares from the girls that sat at the booth on the other side of them.

Caroline looked at the boy not paying attention to the stares she was receiving from her cousin's classmates. Most expected her to be caught off guard but the girl was calm and collected. "Well, I had to see what all the fuss was about when I heard of their team captain."

She sounded just as elegant as he imagined her to be with the smooth silky voice that reminded him of honey he would add to his tea. She was too perfect for words to describe and he couldn't believe he was in the presence of something so beautiful. It was only the beginning of their love story and only grew from there.

Dawn must have heard that story a million times and thinking of it now made her miss her parents even more. Her mother was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the summer and her father was a Sargent in the army currently stationed at a training camp in New Jersey.

She just felt bad they couldn't be there for her mother, but Caroline told the girl that she would get through it. Deep down Dawn wanted to believe her. She was her mother after all, but she knew that she would fade away slowly.

Dawn has never been as religious as the rest of her family. Maybe it's because she never felt truly tranquil with the lord. Sure, Dawn loved being able to sing the hymns her grandmother taught when she was young during the services and she read her bible, sometimes, but Dawn believed that the lord wouldn't judge as the rest of the clergy did. She has watched too many people who have tried to seek the Lord be shunned and she knew deep down that if her family knew more than she played off she would be one of them.

Dawn may seem like a poster child on the outside but underneath is a fiery attitude that just seems to turn on when no one is around. She wasn't easy or anything like that but she did have a way with other people's mentality.

Most girls her age would be sleeping soundly around midnight, but not Dawn. She would wait every Friday night for the sound of her father to turn off the television or radio and jump out of bed putting on thee floral dress that she bought when she went to the boutique down the road with some friends without her mother's knowledge.

She would sneak into the bar every night and ask the bartender who owned the place if they had any extra spots for performers. It was usually the owner of the building, who was known around the town for her famous cherry pie that each seemed to love from the diner located in the other room. She liked the young girl and agreed to let her work theirs off of tips. In exchange let her put on a show for the different characters that stopped but to have a drink.

She was able to pull the stunt for about a month until her father dragged her out of the bar shunning her for what she was doing. He loved her and wanted what was best for his little girl. He knew that he needed to support her through her dreams of being a musician, but he told her he didn't want her doing it in a skimpy dress.

Dawn respected her father and she was thankful to have him as a dad. She never went back to the bar after that, instead, she would play outside the diner before her job. She hoped a big shot manager would find her talent. They never came.

One day she decided to play after her shift before the sun went down. She remembers that night clearly. She was playing in front of the diner and had just gotten off a shift. It was getting late and the girl knew if she didn't leave now she wouldn't get up on time to head to school. She packed up her things shutting her case when she saw the door open to a taller boy that seemed to be just a few years older than Dawn. He gave her a smile looking down at her case, "That's a shame I was really hoping I could hear some more of the Carter sister's music come from such a beautiful voice."

The young girl blushed at the boy's comment, "Well I would play more but I really need to be heading home."

She started to walk off and he grabbed her arm gently, "I'm sure I'll catch you next time." He looked around, "You really expect me to let a pretty little thing like yourself walk home alone."

Dawn shook her head.

"Why don't I take ya home? I'm sure you'll feel a lot safer."

The girl was hesitant at first but her mind told her what harm could he do? He was around her age and seemed nice. He was also rather handsome and the first person close to her age that she had seen in the diner.

Dawn finally agreed to go with the boy. They had. a pleasant conversation on her way to her apartment. When they were a few blocks away his demeanor seemed to change, making Dawn uneasy at some things he said like, 'how far have you gone with a boy,' and 'would you be interested in dating someone older?' He started brushing his hand against her arm and sometimes would hover over her dress.

She started walking faster hoping that if anything were to happen she would be ready to make a run for her front door. The boy she didn't know the name of continued to asked unsettling questions the closer they got and Dawn brushed them off but it wasn't until his hand trailed to her behind was when she drew the line.

"I- uh this is my stop and really need to be heading inside." She managed to make it a coupled of steps before he grabbed her arm place a very tight grip on her arm.

The look in his eyes was something she had never seen before. "Come on doll, don't you have time for some... fun. I'm sure home can wait."

Dawn's breath hitch and she knew that she was in deep shit. His hand trailed to the hem of her skirt and he moved her into the shadows by the ally way. That was right next to her building. She finally managed the courage to scream out for anyone. Her father. Mother. Neighbors.

Tears welded her eyes as he started to reach for the buttons on her waitress uniform, he wasn't able to get very far. Everything went by in a blur when she felt his weight be pulled off of her as she saw a figure throw a punch at him.

She heard her mother's voice as she sank down to the dirty pavement. She felt familiar arms wrap around her as she shook at the feeling of the boy still ghosting over her body.

The sound of thumps filled the air over and over again. As her eyes adjusted through the tears she saw her father beating the boy to a pulp and she looked over to the person holding smoothing her hair whispering sweet little nothings into her ear.

That night Dawn stopped trying altogether. It put a hold on her faith in herself, God, the world, but didn't stop her from what's it's taught her.

The sound of her mother's voice comforting her and telling her she was okay kept her sane. She let the sound trail into her sleep as she drifted away that night not letting Caroline leave her side. Repeating:

"Dawn...sweetheart it's alright."

"Dawn, you have nothing to worry about, you know that. I'm here."

"Dawn..."

"Dawn," her mind snapped back from the present time holding the rotary phone to her ear as the voice of her mother could be heard from the other side. "Honey are you okay, you're breathing started to become a little uneven. Are you sure I shouldn't come to Coal Creek?"

The girl noticed that she blanked out on the conversation she had been having with her mother for that pst five minutes. "No, Mamma it's alright. I just zoned out for a bit that's all."

"Are you sure," Caroline's voice was laced with uncertainty, "Honey, if you need to come home early I'm not gonna stop ya."

"I told you I'm alright. You don't need me getting in the way of your treatments. You have Renae to keep you company. I'll be back before you know it." Dawn tried to smile but she knew that it broke her mother to know that she wanted to be there every step of the way. Dawn didn't understand much about her mother's situation she just knew that it wasn't a good one.

"I swear if I hear her gush one more time about that Elvis I might just blare some Patsy Cline just to shut her pie hole."

She laughed at her mother and a wave of emotion washed over her knowing that her mother would notice id she didn't hang up soon. "Well, as much as I like to talk about Patsy I need to get going. Grandma is taking me to church this afternoon."

"Oh is that same old preacher still saying those God awful sermons."

"Yeah he does," Dawn said letting out a shaky laugh, "I almost fell asleep last week listening to him Sunday evening."

"Well, I won't leave you waiting any longer. Knowing my mother she is already touching up her makeup."

"Yeah, I love you, mamma. I hope you know that."

"I sure hope I do because I love you even more, just promise me to stay out of trouble honey."

"I will momma." She bit her lip feeling the tears filling her eyes. "I'll see you soon."

"See you soon my morning sun."

Before Dawn could say anything else the line went dead. She felt the tears streaming down her face. She knew if her grandmother saw her she would have sympathy towards the girl and go on how everything was gonna turn out okay.

Maybe at one point in her life, she would give the lord her trust, but it was hard with her father being gone and her mother. She's thought about it for a while and wanted to live her life like her mother. Dawn didn't exactly know where to start but she knew she could get there.

Riding next to her Grandmother in her farm truck her mind started to wonder what she would be like if she didn't think the way she did sometimes. If only she listened to her father and not taken the job at that diner but here she is.

The car came to a stop parking next to a '60 Chevy, and she stepped out into the heat smoothing out her dress. She gave her grandmother a smile before they made their way to the old wooden church. Walking closer to the entrance she noticed the boy from early still in a denim jacket and hat leaning against the front wall with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

Dawn wondered if he remembered her.

Little did she know that when she looked away the boy looked straight at her thinking the same thing. Both not knowing what was in stored for the pair.

a/n: (please read it's kinda important) Surprise I lied I decided to update this early. Let me start out by saying thank you so much to everyone who voted on the cast list and playlist, wow. I honestly didn't expect it to be looked at.

I also want you to know that I didn't think it was my place to write assault. I have never been through a situation like that and I made sure to not go deep into it. I want to clear a few things before we start the actual story. Like I said in the note for the cast list I am going to include a few details from the book that weren't in the movie, but don't worry there will be nothing major. In the book, there is a 3-year time jump from when Arvin beats up the boys that made fun of Lenora (Eliza Scanlen) to Preston Taegardin (Robert Pattinson) becoming the new preacher of their church rather than just 3 months. I felt like I should make that clear because I know most people are here from the movie. This means that Arvin and Dawn are both fifteen when they first meet and eighteen when the story "ends". I wanted to add more to the story rather than cramming their story into three months.

Updates will vary but I am aiming towards Tuesday because I update my other story on Thursday and Sunday. I hope you enjoy and stay tuned for my update next week. Also sorry about any mistakes I sort of just skimmed it by I'll go back over it later.