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Puppy Charming 101 [Isabelle x citizenanon]

James Sterling, Jim to his friends, approached the school with a spring in his step. Today was a good day. The weather was warm, the sun was out, and everything looked great for school. Jim stood tall for his age at just over six feet in length. He was ruggedly built, years playing football and baseball having conditioned him as an athlete of some ability. He had short dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

Just inside the high school grounds, he met up with his usual group of friends: athletes from the various different teams that the school was well known for.

"I'm telling you, Jim. You missed quite a party last night." Michael, James' best friend teased. "Girls everywhere and plenty of drinks to go around."

James smiled, "Yes, you can tell me all about it later. I was with Erica. My time was well spent, I promise you."

Michael made the sound of a cracking whip as the rest of their group laughed. James rolled his eyes, but did not bother to correct anyone. It would not have helped. It never did. Not now, not last week, not ever.

***

Lunch came and went. It was the usual terrible food with even more terrible prices. The company was the same and even the conversation did not vary much from what they had discussed earlier before class. The major difference was that as they walked through the halls after lunch, James could make out a crowd gathering in the hallway. Assuming it was a fight, he looked around for an instructor. He rolled his eyes when he did not spot a single teacher. Of course not. With the knowledge that someone would have to break it up, he walked towards the group.
 
Many people called her Rapunzel, due to her excessively long braid. It was nearly four feet in length! And swung behind her. For this she was labeled dirty. A second reason was that her family kept a tight lock on what their children were exposed to, teaching them only things found in the holy bible, leaving her socially awkward, and very shy.

Sophie walked to school that chilly autumn morning, kicking a rock aimlessly down the side walk. Her little hands held onto the straps of her leather back pack.
The sack hit her bum as she trudged along. It was a great ordeal for her to get to school, mostly out of a burning desire to stay at home, away from her new peers. But alas, her little rock hit the sign that read "Wellingdon High".
She frowned some what, and turned up another path leading to the building's doors. It was a one story school, spreading wide across the large campus. They were fortunate enough to have their own threatre, and field for sport activities. The double doors were rather heavy, so with a great heave, Sophie opened one and pushed forward, passing the bodies of others.

Her own frame was petite, from her little feet to her delicate hands. Being only five foot would leave little evidence to having anything else but small framework! Still, this creature in particular was as dainty as a tea cup, and thrice as pretty! Her complexion was fair, as her skin was white like a glass of milk, paired up with rosey cheeks, and slight peachy undertones. Sophie was blessed with such a pretty heart-shaped face, something that could easily fit into a strong man's had. On it was a slim nose, plush pink lips, and two large ocean blue eyes.

These eyes did a better job of reading words on a page, than looking at the curious world around her. She found comfort in books. The texture of a 20 pound paper versus that of an older print were all to familiar. The scent of newly pressed, and the musk of books held in dank storage places was almost---arousing. They hardly ever changed, with the exception of cover, typeface, and font size. They were always there for when she needed them, open and ready to share all of their opinions and past experiences. She loved becoming lost in the stories and escaping well... reality.

And who would enjoy a reality where one was surrounded by people, but none would ever smile, or even notice her. And if they should, they scowl and taunt her? It was never something she enjoyed.

Classes started, and ended, and she sulked about the halls. Lunch came, and like every other day, she wound up eating alone in the library, until a Librarian would find her out, and escort her to the hall, reinforcing the the strict "No eating" policy. Leaving her to wander the corridors.

Since she was less than observant, Sophie didn't notice the foot which stuck out. Her little foot caught onto his, and with a great tug, she was sent swiftly down.
"AHHHH!" She cried out in surprise, her hands jutting out in front of her to break the fall with the floor. She looked back up to a crowd of faces which surrounded the little blonde. She looked up from her thick rimmed glasses. Who had done this?

"Haha! Look at Rapunzel! What are you doing? Are you worshiping the floor? Can't even stand on your stupid feet."

Sophie stayed quiet, looking up to the female who spoke. Suddenly another student kicked her in the shoulder! Yelping, Sophie curled up; clutching her arm. The female, named Sandra, reached down, and grasped her floor length braid. With a yank, she pulled the whimpering Sophie to her feet.

"Rapunzel, darling, let down your haaair!"

She shook her fist violently, whipping Sophie's little head back and forth like a window wiper against the air.

Another student chirped in,
"I wonder if you cut off her hair if it'll turn brown like in that stupid Disney movie."

"Oo!" Good idea cooed Sandra. Sandra was a bit more of a promiscuous girl, and disliked the stares she received from Sophie; who was actually just enchanted by her bold personality. Instantly Sophie began to cry, trying to move away from Sandra. Then a pair of anonymous hands shoved her into a locker. BANG! And all went dark.

From the outside was about two feet of her braid that stuck out from the locker, and the little yellow ribbon tied to the end of it. Cassandra, another girl who was friend with both Sandra and Erica, giggled as she posed with a pair of scissors by the braid. Then snip snip snip! It fell to the floor.

"Eww! Its like a dead snake!"
The group began to take turns kicking around the silky haired braid; it slowly unraveling, leaving hair on the floor.


Sophie cried to herself from inside the locker. Pounding on it, "P-Please! Let me out!!!"
 
James waded through the crowd nearly effortlessly. Most people moved away from him as they either sensed his coming or saw him moving towards them. James had a reputation as a fair minded young man. He had never fought much in school, but had often broken up fights before anyone could get punished for it. A head taller and more than fifty pounds of muscle heavier than most of the average students, he made for a compelling reason not to fight. Thus, any students who did not move simply found themselves moved out of his way by him.

Michael, a dark skinned man in a school jacket, hung back. He would keep an eye out for Jim, but would also keep an eye out for any potential trouble coming from instructors that might show up now. Since James was 'involved' he would have gotten punished too. As he was watching, he noticed Sandra and Cassandra moving through and away from the crowd. "Hey girls, what's going on here? I can't see anything. Jim is going to try and sort it out like he always does." He smiled, "James the white knight to the rescue."

James got to the middle of the throng of students and was momentarily confused. There was no one here, no fight. This completely defied his expectations. James was no idiot though and he looked around. The first thing that he noticed were the strands of silken blonde hair on the ground as well as a small ribbon. He crouched down and picked it up. The crowd, sensing the fun was over began to disburse, leaving him alone with the mystery. It was only as the crowd moved away that he heard it. The faintest of cries coming from the lockers beside him. James let out a list of expletives that would have gotten him a week in detention had anyone heard and opened the only locker there that did not have a lock attached to it.

Hazel eyes peered into the darkness of the locker and spotted the source of the cries. He recognized the young woman as the girl that was always quiet and did not have any friends. He frowned as he looked at her. That was terrible.

"Hey, come on out." James tried to coax her out, "The crowd is gone." He tried to smile at her as he tried to remember her name. "You're Sophie, right? There's no one here to hurt you."
 
Out from the darkness peered a large pair of round blue eyes. They were glazed over with tears! Speaking of tears, they were dripping down her tiny face. She was such a pretty, sad, terrible sight to see. She slid down against the back of the locker, sitting down on her bottom, her knees pulled towards her face. Her little form trembled. Not that he could see much of it. She wore such a large, overly baggy sweater that any of her features were hidden. Only her knees poking out showed how slender she was, but they too were covered by thick black tights. She cried into her hands for a moment before he began to speak to her.

She trembled more, a hand grabbing onto the metal that would click into the locker. She pulled herself up. Her legs wobbled from all the anxiety she felt. The scared little bunny then hopped out from the metal container. Her hands latched onto his shirt, pulling her small form to his. And instantly, she began bawling. Her body shook as she heaved. Steady rivers of tears streamed down her face.

One person could only handle so much torment.

Students passed by them, apathetic to the situation. Either they ignored the scene, or curled her beneath their breath.
 
James wrapped an arm awkwardly around the crying young girl; it was like trying to carry a small child. His hand, large compared to her slender build, rubbed long circles over her back as he led her away from the locker. He used a foot and forced the metal container closed. It slammed shut, reverberating around the quickly emptying hallway. It was not until she jumped in his hands at the noise that he realized his mistake.

Any students that might have said anything kept it to themselves as he maneuvered the pair of them through the hall to a small bench where they could sit for a moment. He really had no idea what to do with the armful of crying young woman, but he would do his best. James all but carried her to the seat. "It's okay. It's okay." He whispered, his words on repeat as he attempted to calm the crying girl. It was not until he got to the bench that he tried a different tactic. "You're okay now, Sophie. We're going to sit here and you can tell me what happened, okay?" He asked and led her to try and sit down.
 
It took him a few tries before she pulled her face away from his chest. Her cheeks were red, her eyes puffy, and red-rimmed, her nose as red, and her mouth was left in the shape which described pure agony. No hurt like this hurt. No pain could be bad as the pain she was forced to endure. A slave to the hand of others, Sophie kept to herself in quiet. She always thought that no one would notice her if she was silent. But today she learned that was not the case. Her hair was strewn about, uneven in length, falling infront of her face, and down her back. It was untamed, and crimped from being in a braid and also being handled so roughly. Instead of falling to her ankles, her hair fell to the small of her back.

How was she going to explain this to her mother? When she brushes her long hair, before tying it? Sophie shook. How could she? H-how...

He steadied her, bringing her to a bench. Sophie still refused to let go. It wasn't until he sat down that she followed. The girl simply continued to cry.

Even Michael looked at James strangely now, as if asking him what he was going to do about his little problem!
 
James shrugged his shoulder at Michael and made a 'go on with out me' motion with his hands. Michael shrugged to himself and to the few students that had milled about. Most had watched James and the girl, but few actually cared about her or his role in what was going on.

"Let's get to class girls, James is a big boy, he can handle himself against Rapunzel if he needs to." Michael said to Cassandra and her friend before walking down the hall with them.

James simply held the crying girl in his arms, assuming she would cry herself out eventually. He continued to whisper into her ear, trying to calm her and bring her out of the panic she seemed to be stuck in. After several minutes and one bell ringing later, he still held on to her in the hallway. Several teachers glanced at the students as they moved by. After determining that they weren't their responsibility, the teachers moved on, leaving them be.

Some public school system.

"Hey, look at me, Sophie." Jame tried again since they were late for class. "Hey, come on now, it's not the end of the world sweet heart."
 
Sophie's shaking dulled down the more he allowed her to cry. Her plush cheek rested against his chest. She breathed steadily. Oh, how tired she was. Tired from crying. Tired from being teased, and taunted, and shoved around. This wasn't right, none of it was. Sophie sat up, and looked onto James' face. Her skin was fair as a glass of milk, her face dry, and her eyes less puffy. She blinked softly, a little unsure of what to do. So she looked to her shoes. One of which had been kicked down the hall way. Her little hands clutched onto the sleeve of his arm.

A few seconds passed before, "..." she sighed.
 
James took her movement as a good sign as she stopped crying and seemed to be aware of her surroundings once more. When she looked up and him then back down at her feet, he followed her gaze. How had he not known that she was down a shoe? Where was that shoe? He scanned the hallway and spotted it a few dozen feet away. James stood and walked towards the shoe, but stopped as he felt her hand still on his sleeve. He turned and watched her for a moment and grew even more surprised when she simply followed him instead of releasing him.

"Okay then, let's go get your shoe." James walked down the hallway, staying slow so that she could keep up with him. He continued to glance back at her time and again as they moved through the hallway. For the first time, he took the time to observe her and look her over. She was actually very pretty in an understated way. Why had he not seen that before? James retrieved her shoe and moved back to the bench. "See? Not so bad." He quoted himself.
 
Sophie followed him like a lost puppy. There was no plan in any near future of letting him go, she physically could not! Everything that she was feeling, and wanting to say, was all suppressed behind her neutral face, and tightly gripping fist. Down she went as he seated her. She silently took the shoe from his hand, slipping it onto her foot. It was eerie how quiet she was.

Slowly, she turned her face up to his. Her eyes no longer puffy, instead, pretty and blue. Her naturally wavy hair combed over to one side, dangled off her shoulder. Her cheeks were rosey, and her lips a perfectly pink shade, and very plush looking. Such a pretty face. She blinked, fanning her dark, long lashes. And then, it happened. A small, meek, smile grew on her face, lighting it up as she looked to him ever so fondly.

Her hand still holding onto him.
 
James smiled back at the young woman as she looked at him. That was better. Maybe they were starting to get somewhere now. It was a break through! His eyes traveled to her hand that was still attached to his sleeve, but he really could not bring it up to her. Not after she was just now starting to feel better.

"Now, that's what I wanted to see." James cheered. "Oh!" He reached into his pocket and withdrew her ribbon. The silky strands felt nice in his fingers and he held it out to her. "Here, I thought you might like to have this back, Sophie. It looks nice when you wear it."
 
And just as it seemed like everything was getting better, her face full of smiles, and her eyes bright, he handed something rather real. Sophie's eyes fell to his hand as it moved over her own hand. She grew still, looking at the silken yellow ribbon in her petite hand. Tears began to drip down her face as her grip tightened on his sleeve. What was she going to do?! Momma and Papa would never stand for this! Maybe this is what she needed for them to put her back into home schooling? Of course the DA wouldn't stand for it, b-but... She began to tremble, choking back on tears as she held all of her anxieties in.

After several minutes, a very small voice squeaked, "Papa is going to kill me..." She looked to him, the tears streaming down her face as she cried silently. "I... I can't go h-home with hair like this!" Her hair was left at an uneven length, having been chopped off when tied in a braid. She had never felt her hair so short in her entire life!
 
James realized his mess up almost immediately. He should have either held on to the ribbon until the next day or some other time to give it to her. Apparently, her hair was very important to her. He did not understand it. His own hair was kept short and easily manageable. There had been rumors about the girl's family, but he hardly ever listened to them. Something about being really religious or crazy. One of the two.

"Sophie, nobody is going to kill anybody." James gently corrected, "We can get your hair fixed before you go home. It will still be shorter, but at least it will be even. You can even braid it again." He smiled at her, "Would it help if I went with you and explained what I saw happen?" James was trying to be friendly, trying to help this young woman. He had no idea who she really was or what he might be walking into if her family were crazy. Would he disappear? Would he be kept in the walls? In the freezer? Maybe if he were lucky... the basement. No. It would all be fine! Still, for her to be so afraid of upsetting her father when she had literally done nothing wrong was a bit absurd.
 
Absurd? Ha! They new nothing of absurdity. No. Sophie clung to her hair, which was quiet long as it was, and combed her fingers through it almost obsessively. Her lips trembled as she tried not to blubber all over the place. Shakey hands then began to braid her hair. How shamed she felt, with her hair loose. Had she sinned? Was she now a marked woman? Sophie's hands quickly found themselves holding onto his arm again as she cried. His words cooed softly to her, and after a minute or so, she sniffed.
"M-my family does not believe in allowing a woman to cut her hair. It is a sign of innocence to have it long, but keeping it tied shows they are unmarked..."

She looked to him with her pretty face, "My father will be so furious with me!" Looking away, she thought of his last statement. She bit her lip nervously. Gazing up to him with those doe eyes, she nodded, "I-I should have it evened shouldn't I?"
 
James listened on as she explained her predicament. Innocence he understood, sure. That one was easy. Unmarked woman? What on earth did that mean? Whatever it was, that's what she wanted to be and certainly did not want to be marked.

"If you're worried about how it will look, then you probably should." James agreed without commenting on the odder parts of her explanation. He could uncover that later on if he had the time to delve into her strange family dynamics. Still, at the very least it sounded like they cared. "I know a stylist that works pretty close to our campus who charges very reasonable rates for trims and the like. You've probably never been to a place like that, but I can show you where it is if you like." James smiled at her and offered her his hand in greeting, "I'm James. James Sterling. I don't think we have ever talked before, but we share a couple classes." Poor, nice, naive, innocent James. He had no idea what he was getting into.
 
Sophie stared at his hand for a moment, before nodding. Her own hand let go of his sleeve, and came up to gently take a grip of his. Her hand was so miniature in comparison! She blushed just slightly. His hand was so warm.

"S-Sophie Tidbury."
She responded. A friend! Is this what a friend was? Were they friends? Was he HER friend? Happiness began to bubble up inside of Sophie, and suddenly, she found herself hugging him. Her arms draped about his neck as she held herself to him. Even her breasts pressed against him just slightly!
 
Okay. This was better. Much better than having her crying on him and telling him how very strange her homelife was. Of course, this was about twenty yards past what he would have taken as an improvement before. James awkwardly returned the enthusiastic hug. He could feel her pressed against him and made a mental note that she was certiainly not as frumpy as she liked to dress. "It's nice to meet you, Sophie Tidbury." James offered before slowly moving her away from him, but not so far away that contact was broken. He had noticed her need for it earlier and figured that it would be just as bad now.

"We still have a class this afternoon, Sophie, but we can go after school and get you taken care of, okay?" James offered. It was English class. One of the few they actually shared together. They would be many minutes late, but James was sure that he could swing it without an issue. Being popular and a star athlete made things so much easier sometimes.
 
She gave him a final squeeze before sliding back down onto her bum. Her hands slipped back down to his sleeve, and she held it tenderly. When he mentioned class, Sophie nodded softly.

"O-okay," He made movements of getting, and she once again followed. Her hand still holding onto him. They each made a stop by their lockers, which were ironically, side by side. Sophie still jumped when James shut the door of his. She was very shooken up from earlier. And so, she continued after him, holding onto the hem of his shirt now. Once they arrived to class, Mrs. Berbrich looked to them from the chalkboard,

"Decided to show up did we? Do you know how late you are!"
 
James looked up at Mrs. Berbrich and smiled, "I'm sorry, ma'am. There was a fight in the halls and I had to make sure that nobody was hurt." He explained, "Nobody was physically hurt and everyone should have made it back to class by now." James looked directly at her and his face turned innocent, "I will accept any punishment you think I deserve for helping other students, ma'am."

Such tactics had worked before and he really was a model student for the most part. There were very few times that he had not done well or what had been expected of him. It just was not in his nature to fail or go too far against the grain of society.
 
Mrs. Berbrich eyed them both. A fight eh? Hmm. Curious. James had a reputation of breaking up fights, and he was almost never late to class, but Sophie. Sophie never really stood out. Sure the young girl had amazing writing skills, and academically she was a good student, but she was mousey and bland. Mrs. Berbrich pursed her lips, narrowing her thin brows as she looked over James.
"Hmmm..." She thought audibly, "Well, alright. Quick! To your seats. Open your books to chapter seven."

Sophie followed behind James, still holding on the hem of his shirt. Eventually he had to sit down though, leaving her alone. She looked to him with those pained eyes, before making her way to the very far corner of the class room. There she sat, opening her text books.

Class continued, and as it did, a close friend named Anthony from the baseball team, leaned in. "Hey! What's the deal with you and miss Rapunzel?"
 
James turned and watched her make her way to her seat before getting his book out and turning to chapter seven quickly. He caught up to where the class was and relaxed into his chair. He was reading along when Anthony spoke to him. James eyed the teacher for a moment, making sure she was not looking at them and busy elsewhere before he looked at Anthony.

"I don't know man, she was being picked on and looks like she could use a friend." James made a note on his pad of paper and scribbled down something else from the lesson. "Someone shoved her in a locker and cut off a foot of her hair. There must have been twenty people there that could have stopped it, but nobody did." James appeared furious about the travesty, but took a calming breath and continued to write his work down. James looked at Anthony for a moment, "I couldn't just leave her there, you know?"

James looked up in time to catch the teacher giving him the evil eye. He cleared his throat and went back to work, head down and focusing on the lessons they were trying to learn. No sense in upsetting the teacher more than she already was. He did not need a detention or anything like that this weekend. When the class had ended, James stood from his desk and stretched before stuffing his book into his pack as well as his notes and writing materials. He nodded to Anthony who was quick to escape from the room as James held back to let the students filter out. When everyone had left, he glanced back to see Sophie waiting on him. He smiled and walked over to her.

"Hey, you stayed." James observed, "Let's get out of here."

***

It had been an interesting trip to the stylist. Sophie was one that walked to school every day while he drove. She had stayed mostly quiet and kept a form of physical contact with him at most times on the way there. When they arrived, it took him several moments to get her out of the car just outside the building. That was where they were standing now, outside the glass window of the stylist. Luckily it appeared that no one was really there now aside from the woman they were looking for. "Shall we?" James asked with a smile.
 
Sophie was still holding onto his sleeve at that point. It took her several steps to keep up with his single step; mostly due to their height difference. They were an odd pair, her with her frumpy outfit and short stature, and him being a tall slice of well dressed man-cake. She looked up to him in front of the large glass window. She felt nervous. Her grip tightened. She gave a small nod, "Y-yes." And in she followed. The bright lights of the salon scared her just slightly.

The smell of floral hair products wafted over them as they entered the girly temple of prayer. Sophie hid behind James, as he made his way up to a woman named Heidi. She was a woman of medium height, and a slightly darker complexion from the amount of times she would use the tanning salon. Her hair was bleach blonde on top, and dark red on the bottom, and curled ever so slightly. She smiled to her favourite customer, "Why hello James! Here for a quick trim, are we darlin?" She gave him a playful wink.

Sophie poked her head out from behind him. So this was a hairstylist.
 
"No, not me Heidi." James smiled and stepped to the side. "Heidi, meet my friend Sophie. Sophie, this is Heidi. She's kept my hair looking good since I was a small boy." He placed a hand on the small of her back and gently scooted her forward. "Sophie had some trouble with her braid today and part of it was shorn off. She just needs a trim to get it evened back out again." He spoke the truth. His mother had brought him here just over eight years ago as Heidi had come very well recommended by a client of theirs and life, to his parents, was all about contacts and making the best out of everyone you knew. It occasionally grated on James how they treated people, but there was no denying it had been successful for them.

The young man turned to his newest companion. She seemed scared, frightened by everything and anything in the room. He hoped Heidi would be able to put the poor girl at ease a bit. "Is there anything else you would like done, Sophie? Heidi here is a master with scissors."
 
Heidi looked to the young woman she was presented with. Her part was right down the middle of the head, but strands of the hair were pulled over, making it looks rather sloppy. But, as she listened to James, and the story of how she had her hair cut off, her heart melted a little. She smiled to her, "Its true! I can do whatever you want. Would you like to look at some magazines to see a hairstyle you might like?" Heidi used her more gentle voice, one she had used when James had come for his first hair cut.

Sophie looked nervously between the two of them. She didn't know what to have done, let alone being there! Her father would surely be angry with her. She began to fumble with her fingers, having nothing else to hold on to. She mumbled a soft yes, and followed Heidi to the seating area.

"Now, why don't you have a seat and look through some styles while I finish up blowdrying Mrs. Keystone's hair, okay?" Sophie looked to James with her big eyes before looking back to Heidi. She nodded, and took a seat.

She started with the stack to her left, flipping through them slowly. The styles were all so short! She began to tremble nervously... What would happen if she came home with even shorter hair like a bob or pixie cut? She gulped. They wouldn't do that to her, would they?! Page after page she flipped, until her attention was diverted. Originally she thought it was James who sat next to her, but it wasn't. It was a young girl, about 12 years old. She had a funky style of dressing, and sat rather improperly, holding a manga novel in her hand. It was the girl on the front that caught Sophie's eye. She looked so doll like!

Heidi headed towards the till to finish the service with the elderly woman.

Sophie bit her lip. She would have to make her choice! And soon!
"H-hey!" She squeeked, the girl looked over to her nonchalantly.
Sophie cleared her throat for a moment, "C-could I borrow your book for a moment?"

The girl gave her a funny look before shrugging, "Sure! Here," And with that handed it to Sophie.

"Have you decided on anything?" Smiled Heidi as she approached. Sophie stood up from her seat, tucked her hair behind her ear, and held up the illustrative book cover. "Could I... have something.. like this?" She asked, pointing to the picture.
 
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