Guardian Angels ✔

1 - Welcome Home

"Yo, babyface! We're leavin'!"

The slap on something that was made of metal, had Alex pushing away from underneath the Nissan Leaf, as the car creeper rolled its way out from under the car. She wiped her hands on her overalls, put on her kutte, and walked to the van where Phil was already sitting behind the wheel. Miles was leaning against the passenger door, giving her an impatient look as she approached.

Kozik, Chibs, Rat Boy, and Opie were already standing near the bikes. Alex hadn't connected the dots yet, but she was going with them to the prison. It had been six weeks since Kozik had proposed her as an official prospect, and not much had happened since then. She still had to get used to the idea, and this day was the one she'd been nervous about. She imagined the toughest guys had been sent to prison and she was afraid they would think she was a pussy. Just like Miles did.

Miles was far from being her best friend and sometimes she even got the feeling he saw through her disguise. He had grabbed at her breasts once when he was drunk and she hadn't turned away quickly enough, but she didn't think he remembered anything about that the next day. He, however, was still making comments about her not so rugged appearance all the time, and she blamed her new nickname on him as well.

It wasn't a cool one.

In the meantime she'd reached the back door, sliding into the back seat. Miles turned toward her with a smirk on his face. His lips were moving, but Phil found his voice just as annoying as she did and he turned up the volume of the music. Looking at the rear-view mirror, she thought she saw a trace of a grin. She bit back a thankful smile that was probably way too sweet and quickly lit a cigarette so she could turn her face away.

She had noticed how Miles was always trying to talk down his fellow prospects, hoping to be seen as the best; unfortunately, Alex seemed to be his favorite target, probably because she was the newbie, still seeking her place in the club.

She was hanging around with the guys a lot, and even though nobody really bothered her, except Miles, she didn't feel a real connection to anyone either. The others had known each other for such a long time, and she was keeping a huge secret from them. Her expectations of the club had been totally different; her little brother had felt at home with these men. The few times that he had called, he'd spoken about a warmth he felt with them, one that they both hadn't experienced since their childhood.

Hopefully, that was something that would change now. His biker family had been torn apart, after all. Soon they would be reunited. She hoped she would fit in with this family, that there would be somebody that she could be herself around – to some extent, of course.

She took a long drag from the cigarette as they followed the bikes out of Charming. She didn't really like to smoke, but they all did and even though she had been immune to peer pressure in the past, she didn't want to draw any negative attention; mimic the behavior of the others, that was her tactic. And up to now that had at least helped her to get a cut.

A bit nervous, she bit her lip. Hopefully, the President and VP would see her be an asset to the club as well. It would be very unfortunate if they told her they no longer needed her now they were complete again...

Alex helped to unload the bikes from the back of the van. When she was done she went over to Kozik and stood next to him. Out of all the guys she'd met so far, she liked him the most. Since he had been in the Marines she felt a connection with him, even if he couldn't be aware of it himself. Alex had never told him anything about her time in the army, or anything else from her past.

During one of her first days at TM, she had been skateboarding in front of the garage, while he watched her from a distance. He had sat on a wall, with a look of nostalgia in his eyes that showed her he'd spent many hours on a skateboard when he was younger.

A sudden cheering dragged her out of her thoughts. She focused her gaze and noticed that the gates of the prison had opened to let a group of six men through. Alex had studied the pictures at the clubhouse, so she knew at least their names. A little nervous, she shuffled her feet, trying her best to pull herself together. She had to make a good impression.

Opie, Kozik, Chibs, and the other prospects hugged the former prisoners enthusiastically, patting each other on the shoulder once the group had reached them. She clearly was an outsider, and she felt somewhat relieved when Kozik pushed two cuts into her hands, telling her those belonged to Happy and Juice. She had no doubt that he'd seen her discomfort.

She stepped towards Happy. He had an attitude that drew all attention to him, so it was easy to find him in the crowd. Even with the happiness he was expressing now, she got the impression it was better not to piss him off. Ever.

"Hey man," she said, pushing away her uncertainty. "Welcome home."

She handed him the coveted cut and with a big grin, he took it from her and punched her shoulder. "Thanks."

Before she could say anything else, Miles butted in between them to greet Happy with a hug. His provoking glance didn't go unnoticed, but she acted like she didn't mind his interruption and turned around to find Juice. He had just let go of Chibs, now turning to see her.

She swallowed with difficulty when their eyes met.

Man, he's handsome.

She hadn't realized that when looking at the pictures. The tattoos that had been on his head were now buried beneath his short hair. Although that wasn't the biggest difference; he was looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. When he came to stand in front of her, she couldn't move a muscle for a few seconds. He was clearly waiting until she let go of his cut.

It took a moment before she realized his warm glance and dazzling smile had nothing to do with her but were caused by the fact that he had regained his freedom after fourteen long months of captivity.

Even though the 'welcome home' had slipped past her lips easily when she'd given Happy his cut, she could barely talk now and she held out the piece of leather awkwardly, trapped by his beautiful brown eyes.

"You must be the new one," he said with a smile that weakened her knees.

"Eh... yeah," she muttered, desperately hoping that her brain would return. She was a boy, a man. She couldn't stare at him like this; so stupidly, longing for those muscular arms to wrap around her like all those other men around her were hugging each other. "I'm Shane," she managed to say.

"Juice. Good to meet you."

His hand landed on her shoulder before he put on his cut, walked past her, and embraced Kozik. The jealousy that violently invaded her body caused jolts of pain in her stomach.

Quickly she tried to regain her composure and keep a straight face before Miles could notice anything. No doubt he would love to paint her as being gay and if he did, she could kiss goodbye to the club, any potential friendships and the promise she made to her brother. She had the feeling these men had quite an eighteenth-century vision when it came to sexuality that was other than "the standard" and even if it wasn't; she had no plans on testing her theory.