2. Persistence

Feeling the air being squeezed from her body she shut her eyes tightly and fought back as best she could. It was no use though, his whole body pressed up against hers was too strong a force.

"Jason you're really hurting me!" She stopped moving enough to let her words be audible.

"Lemme kiss you and I'll stop." His words echoing in her ears made her shiver. Not in a good way either.

"I already told you no twice! Now get off of me!"

"Aight, you want it the hard way." He pressed into her more forcefully before looking around. Nobody could see or hear them and the street was empty. Or so he thought.

"Jason, please! Please let go!" Her yells had now turned to pleas as he gripped her arm tightly and pulled it up further behind her back. Continuing to ignore her cries of pain.

"Let me grab you properly and I'll let'chu go, Nicki. It ain't that difficult." She could hear in his voice that he was breathing in short pants, the result of his body trying to keep her still against the wall. The bricks were grazing into the skin on her chest, neck and face as she kept on struggling. "You gon' let me?"

"Not in a mil-" She couldn't complete her stilted sentence before the pressure was released. Turning around instantly she leant against the wall in fear. Her eyes followed his body as he was thrown to floor.

"Get away from her!" The stranger's voice made her look at him instantly and from then on she couldn't pull her gaze from his frame.

"The fuck you think you're doing?!" Jason spat his words out fiercely but the guy stood before him did nothing but laugh. "You think this is funny?!" Charging at him speedily, Nicki gasped once again as the mysterious figure restrained him.

"I'm not playin'. Now get outta here." With one forceful shove Jason hit the ground again and scrambled to his feet quickly.

"Y'ain't heard the last of this." His shouting made Nicki flinch before he turned back to her. "And you! I'll have your hand whether you like it or not! Just watch." Smirking with a sickening look on his face he gave them both a stern look before walking away. His pride was damaged, it was obvious.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She shrugged her shawl back up over her shoulders and remained where she was. "Thank you, for makin' him leave." He nodded politely as a way of saying You're welcome and stepped closer towards her. Only stopping when he saw her body tense up. "Look, I really have to go." She frowned  and glimpsed at the ground for a quick second before turning away.

"Wait! I ain't even catch your name." He held her forearm lightly as he spoke but she quickly snatched away from him. "I'm not gonna hurt you y'know?"

"I know. I just don't know where your hands have been." Her face only became more harsh when he laughed, thinking she was joking.

"Oh, you're not kidding?"

"No." She kept her face straight with each word being said. "Thanks for chasin' him off but I gotta go. He ain't gonna get in shit for what he did, but me? I'mma get my name dragged through the mud for talkin' to someone like you." She shook her head. "Goodbye, stranger."

"Woah, wait!" Stopping her again he furrowed his brow and pointed to his chest. "Someone like me? The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Y'know? A Gorger? Non-traveler folk?" She shook her head. "You're gonna get me in a lotta trouble, sir."

"So you're a traveler?" He kept on following her as she walked.

"Yup."

"You live on the site 'round the corner?"

"That's none of your business."

"I'mma take that as a yes then. I'll walk you home."

"No you won't. I already got a ride."

"Seriously? You drove here from like, ten minutes down the road?"

"It's my brother's weddin'. We all came in cars, dumbass."

"My bad." He chuckled softly at her attitude. "You look really nice by the way. Your boyfriend obviously has no idea how lucky he is."

"Boyfriend?" She scoffed lightly, trying to hide her smile as he continued to trail behind her. "Jason is not my boyfriend! I'd sooner cut off my own arm than marry him."

"So you're single?" His question had barely left his mouth when she turned around quickly.

"Look, I said thank you and acted nice with you but I really need to go." She stared him dead in the eye before taking a step back and turning to walk away.

He stood there and watched her disappear around the corner, mentally kicking himself for not getting her name. His first encounter hadn't been completely useless however, he did know where she lived. He smiled to himself and started walking back in the direction he came from, planning for his next run-in with this mystery girl.

***

"You have any idea how humiliating this is?" Her Mother's words were so sharp they almost penetrated her ears.

"I already told you! He was just helping me out, Ma!"

"I don't care what he was doing! Do you not think we've been through enough? And all of that has finally blown over and now here you are causing more trouble for us!"

"You're. Not. Listening." She swept her hair away from her face and exhaled steadily. "He thought Jason was hurting me, he was passing by and helped me! Thank God he did."

"You're not to leave this caravan park without mine or your Father's permission. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am." She lowered her voice, knowing she wasn't going to win the argument. It had been burning on for almost an hour now.

"Good and when you're finished sulking the washing needs putting out and you can dress your brother." Her Mother didn't stick around for a response as she ripped her washing up gloves off and put them on the drainer before laving the caravan. She knew Jason would have returned home telling tales about her. She hated that. Nobody seemed to care about the bruises she'd sustained during his little attack last night, yet she exchanged a few words with a stranger and she's the bad guy. As she continued to think on it she felt the anger coming out in how she marched over to the washing line and pegged up the clothes roughly, scowling at everyone and everything.

"Nika? Mommy said you had to-"

"One minute Cai. Can't you see I'm busy?" She huffed and carried on with her duty, leaving her younger brother to sit down quietly on an upturned washing basket with his clothes clutched in his tiny hands. As soon as she was done she turned to look at him. His eyes were fixed to the ground miserably, instantly making her feel bad. "C'mon, we'll get you sorted in Lani's trailer." Holding her hand out for him he eagerly latched on and trailed along side her. "Where you goin' anyhow?"

"Daddy's takin' us to a Gypsy fair." He increased the volume of his voice as he climbed the steps to Jelani's caravan and entered ahead of Nicki.

"Who else is goin'?" Her brow wrinkled in thought as she picked him up and sat him on the kitchen counter before proceeding to undress him.

"Mama, Lani, Tay and Daddy." He listed them off one by one on his fingers. "And everyone else."

"Everyone?"

"Yeah but it's okay Nika I'm bringin' a present home for you." His eyes fixed on to hers momentarily before he snatched his attention down to his feet whilst she started putting his socks on.

"Did Daddy say I wasn't allowed to go?"

"Mhm." He nodded sadly and stuck his thumb in his mouth.

"Stop doin' that, you're gon' end up lookin' like a rabbit." Pulling at his wrist firmly he let his hand rest by his side again.

"He said you were doing bad things." He widened his eyes as she picked him up and placed him down again.

"Did he now?"

"Yeah, I said you weren't though." She smiled at him and watched him step steadily down the stairs of the caravan whilst she locked up.

"You better get over there then, before they leave without you." His worried little face made her giggle, his legs carrying him as fast as he could towards their trailer. The outfit he was wearing made her cringe, why'd they have to dress him like that? It was completely beyond her, she was just thankful she wasn't made to dress like that anymore.

***

"Done." Sighing aloud she crossed off her last chore from the list her parents left her and sat back in the kitchen chair. It was almost five and nearly everyone in her community was still at the fair. Probably all having a good time without her. Stealing a glance out of the window she let a profanity escape her lips when she caught sight of the washing thrashing about in the wind. She thought she'd have learnt by now, but every time she would forget about it. She reached the laundry just in time as she began to feel tiny specks of rain landing on her skin.

"Need a hand?"

"What the?!" She jumped back and shut her eyes slowly, trying to regain her composure. "You scared the shit outta me!"

"My bad." His smirk became more visible as he neared the crack in the fencing. Watching her intently. She'd speeded up in movement, snatching each piece of clothing roughly from the pegs and dumping them in the basket. She could fold them inside and away from this creepy stranger.

"You shouldn't be here. You already got me in shit because of yesterday." She spoke angrily.

"What I do?"

"I'm not s'posed to be associatin' with you. Now could you please leave?" She finished attacking the laundry and had it all piled in the basket with it skilfully balanced on her hip. Her face softened when she turned to meet his gaze. He was the definition of perfect. Aside from the fact that he was a Gorger.

"I just wanna know your name, is that so wrong?"

"Yes."

"It's the least you could do in return." She'd started walking away at that point but stopped suddenly and turned to face him again.

"Excuse me?"

"I pulled that nigga off of you yesterday. Saved ya life." Nodding cockily he smiled at her growing frustration.

"Yeah and I thanked you for that already." There was silence as he tried to think of a clever retort. But he couldn't.

"I'm Drake by the way." The outstretched hand reaching through the fence remained motionless, waiting for her to shake it.

"And I'm not interested." She lied with her back now facing him as she started walking away but his shouting was still very much audible.

"Well I'll be here tomorrow! And the day after! And then the day after-"

"It's Onika! Now will you leave me the fuck alone?!" Her angry words were finalised by the slamming of their caravan door. The smile creeping across his face displayed his accomplishment. He'd never seen or met anyone like her before. She was different but in a good way. Leaning away from the fence he walked away, happy with today's achievements.

...

*Okay, I reeeeaaaally, reeeeeaaaally hated this whole chapter but oh well. I think I already stated that this will only be about 3 or 4 chapters long, so it's almost finished anyway lol Thanku to those who commented on the first chapter :) I hope this was okay for you though and once again, I'm not a gypsy expert so there will be tonnes of errors and stuff! Also I'm gonna ask extremely kindly for 8 comments before I continue? Uni is starting next week and having an indication as to when I should post makes things easier for me :)*

OH and Sweet Dreams should be updated tomorrow, hopefully :/ haha

1. A Sheltered Beginning

The word ridiculous would be the expression most people would use for the sight before Onika at this very moment. Her soon to be sister-in-law buried beneath layers upon layers of pink puffy fabric as they stood in the changing room.

"Well, how does it look?" The excitement was all too obvious in her voice as Nicki walked over to her in awe.

"You look amazing Tay, he's gonna love it!"

"You really think so?"

"Girl, I know so." She never once let her eyes leave the overly-sized wedding dress. Although she must admit Taylor looked beyond stunning in such an over the top garment, the road to marriage was one she had a hint of fear for. The outer world had so much to offer someone her age yet the only thing she was taught to focus on was marriage, house duties and children. Having just turned sixteen her Father had brought up marriage every night at the dinner table for the last two weeks. It was doing her head in.

"I hope this all works out okay." Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth Taylor made eye contact with Nicki through the glass of the mirror nervously.

"Of course it will, why would you even say that?"

"I know people look down on your brother and I know what he did was wrong but I want for this to be a new start for him. For us. Y'know?" She continued to fix up creases in her dress as Nicki thought back on her brother's mistakes. He'd undoubtedly shamed the family but Taylor was right, everybody made mistakes and this could be his way of gaining back the respect of their community. Besides, it wasn't as if any of the other travellers in their tribe hadn't done much worse, because Nicki knew for a fact that they had.

Only a few more adjustments needed to be made on Taylor's dress, time was limited but things looked promising. Meeting the rest of the girls out the front they proceeded to fit the bridesmaids dresses. The stark contrast between the bride's dress and what her bridesmaids would be wearing was extremely vast. In fact, Nicki was more than certain that her dress was a shirt labelled as a dress. Frowning harshly at her reflection she tugged at the sides as they clung desperately to her curves. If she'd been paid for every time she walked down the aisle as a bridesmaid she was adamant that she could have paid for her own damn wedding by now. Marriage was a key focus for Gypsies. Every Gypsy was to marry, it was an inevitable part of their future.

***

"Onika, where are you going?"

"I told you already Ma, I gotta go with the rest of the girls to pick up the dresses. They finished alterin' them." She halted outside of the caravan trailer, also known as her home. Resting back on her foot she rolled her eyes irritably.

"As long as you stay with the girls."

"Yes."

"And come straight back."

"Yes." She huffed once more before continuing on down the gravelly path. Her skirt was riding up with each stride annoyingly. Hearing a loud whistle to her left she whipped her head around to see Jason and his goofy ass friends ogling her, instead of responding she stopped in her tracks and stared him down. He actually believed he stood a chance. She knew she had to marry within her community but Jason? No. The fact that her Father even wanted that to happen made her both angry and sick to her stomach.

"Fiesty."

"Fuck you, Jason." Her quip received a few "Ooh's" as they all hit on his arms playfully. His face was a picture right now. Popping her gum with a raised brow she kept on with her journey to her brother's trailer. She knew their family was slightly tainted now so there was even more pressure on her to find a man, marry him and move out of her family trailer but there was always an itch she felt to venture into the world outside of her Gypsy community. An itch that would soon be scratched. Her mind was drifting until she was quickly yanked back into reality by Jelani's voice.

"Aye, I ain't know you was bein' called at by him." He nodded in Jason's direction.

"Ugh, Jay don't even go there. Please." She punched his arm and continued up the steps. "Taylor ready yet?"

"She already left, said she called 'round for you but-"

"I was still sleep." She sighed angrily.

"Yeah, too bad Nic." He laughed knowing she was now stuck here for the day. Another rule she hated. Girls were forbidden to wander alone, people assumed they were up to no good and if something bad is said about them it'd be their word against the alleged witness. Never a good thing. Too many girls had fallen victim to that "crime" and she wasn't about to be one of them.

"Need anythin' doin'?" She asked as she continued to chew her gum hard and leant against the trailer hand rail.

"We always got stuff that needs doin'." He winked and led her inside. "Tay didn't have time this morning so all the cleanin's gotta be done. I'll leave ya to it." He grinned and handed her the trailer key. "Lock up when you're done." Curling her lip slightly she caught herself in the mirror, if anyone could see how she was behaving she'd be reprimanded immediately. Allowing her eyes to trail over her outfit she stared intently at herself. It was no wonder Gypsy girls were frowned upon, the way they dressed was just asking to be judged. Her denim crop top pushed her boobs up immensely at the same time as revealing her whole mid-section and her modesty only covered by a tiny skirt running the length of her hip to her mid-thigh. Her legs made to look tower tall in her wedges. The makeup was what threw most people though. Harsh, dark lashes with the eye-shadow and lipstick colour of her choice, usually it was pink. Continuing to study herself she ran her taloned hands through the ends of her hair, flattening it over her shoulders. The darkness of her long, straight locks only emphasised the rich tone of her skin even more. The makeup and dress wasn't necessarily a rule but every other girl did it so she felt out of place if she accessorised any differently. Gypsies were wrongly depicted though and that was what made her proud to be a traveller, nobody had any sort of insight about their lives but she wanted to change peoples minds.

***

"Everyone's so proud of you Lani." Nicki rested her head on his upper arm as she stood close to him. The wedding had definitely lived up to everyone's expectations and now came the time for him to start afresh. Wash away his "sins". Almost four years ago, he'd married a non-gypsy girl. The ultimate no-no but to make it even worse he divorced her less than a year into their marriage, another absolute no-no. The shame brought upon them was insane but this could repent him. Or so they all prayed.

"Thanks Nic, let's just hope this one has a happy endin' right?" He knocked her chin gently with his knuckle.

"I have faith in you both. You're gonna make the best husband and wife, I just know it." She smiled sweetly even though her dress was suffocating her. Feeling him pull away she grabbed back on to him. "Where you goin'?"

"Nicki, this is my weddin'!" He laughed. "I can't sit with you on the balcony all night, I gotta go dance with Tay before she gets angry." The fear building up within her only increased as he kissed her cheek and walked away. She was petrified for the events to happen after the party and she knew Jason was stalking about, looking for her. Waiting for her.

More than an hour passed before her Mother found her sat alone in the breeze.

"Onika? What're you doin' out here alone? The party's practically over."

"Sorry, I just needed some air." She rolled her lips together and blinked slowly. "We leavin' now?"

"You feelin' okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I just need to go home."

"Mmkay, well we're heading back now but all you bridesmaids are travelling together." She smiled at how beautiful her daughter looked sat before her. Imagining how her wedding day would be when it came. "I'll see you back home, be safe." Kissing her forehead she left the balcony and exited the venue arm-in-arm with her husband, Nicki's Father.

At this moment Nicki felt completely on edge, afraid to make her way outside for fear of being "grabbed". Grabbing was a sort of courting ritual, which she happened to find absolutely barbaric. The title pretty much explained what it was, a guy sees a girl he likes and therefore he grabs her. Not just an innocent little pinch but a full on tackle was usually the case. Jason had already done it to her twice but she'd managed to push him off of her, mostly out of terror but this time she dreaded making the walk to their car. The other girls were loitering opposite a group of boys, actually waiting to be grabbed. As her brow wrinkled thinking about why they would want to fall victim to this animalistic form of courting she was quickly pulled from her thoughts when she felt herself being rammed against the brick wall of a nearby building. Her arm twisted behind her back and her front pressed firmly against the bricks whilst she cried out.

...

*I was gonna keep this short and pretty simple just to see how people liked it but let me know what you thought. I'm not sure how much people know about Gypsies but I'm just going off of what I know about them from my home country. Once again this is FICTION so it doesn't have to be true. Anyway thanks for reading :))*

Introduction

Yup, I'm starting another one BUT this will only be like a three or four part story so I'll post once in a while here and then it'll be done :)

Usually I just start posting straight away but I wanted to state some things first. This FICTIONAL story is exactly that. Fiction. Therefore I control what is happening and what is true or false. I've had this idea ticking over in my mind for a while now but never started it because of certain reasons, which will be clear to some when I post the first chapter. However, it's just a story. Nothing has to be exactly as it is in everyday life so I'm going to go ahead and do it.

I might post later on, I've got some other fics to update first :3

Carlee x