june 07 4:30pm

lydia smiled to herself once more after putting a name to his face. he was pretty, and his name was also pretty. she didn't know much about him, but in her little mind she knew she liked being in his presence already.

"hi, tatum" she said quietly, but cheerfully as she stood in front of the boy.

"hi, little" the boy, now known as tatum, replied. lydia was left a bit puzzled by the new nickname, and tatum noticed this.

"it's because you're tiny. you're little." he reassured her, slightly easing her confused expression. she was surprised to already have been given a nickname, as her mother always taught her that nicknames come after awhile of speaking to someone. the only nickname she had ever had was lidie, and it was given to her by her mother. lydia smiled at the thought of raya.

"you like butterflies, yes?" tatum asked with a slight nod of his head.

"i love them, i adore them-" she started.

"i know." tatum interrupted her. this confused lydia. how did he already know? yes she was standing in the exhibit, but for all he knew she was just there to maybe pick up a younger sibling, or maybe even just passing through. how did he know she enjoyed this part of the fair? this thought then brought her to her next conclusion. if he knew, why did he ask?

tatum began to slightly smile to himself. he enjoyed inconveniencing the girl, even if that meant causing her temporary confusion. tatum was very good at examining people and reading their emotions, and that night, he wanted nothing more than to know everything he could gather about the girl in front of him. so he did what he did best, he examined her.

from the moment he stood in line behind lydia at the fair entrance, he knew he was interested in her. however, he also noticed how many other men in the surrounding area also took interest in her. he didn't like that, he didn't like the attention being on her. unless, of course, it was from him. tatum examined the way she threw around excited glances at every inch of her surroundings. he knew what she thought about herself at the moment that he saw such a sight. she thought she was being aware. alert, even. and tatum wanted nothing more than to be the one to prove that she couldn't take care of herself. she needed him. and he knew so from the first glance he threw at her.

tatum didn't know how to approach the situation. of course he could tap on her shoulder and let her know he was interested in her, sure, but that wasn't exciting enough for him. he knew by the way that everyone was looking at her, she wouldn't have understood what he would've been putting out. she would've thought he wanted to be her friend. every person she made eye contact with, she threw a polite sweet smile their way. and tatum had decided that he wanted to be different.

how could she not see? how could she not feel everyone violating her with their eyes? she was clueless. too clueless for her own good. and tatum knew he would fix that.

watching her walk behind the counter with the man who was presumably selling the tickets, tatum eyed the two carefully. he wasn't angered, no, not yet. lydia was not his target yet. he knew he would not be able to make his decision on if she was worthy of the effort he so badly longed into putting into her until he spoke to her. he just didn't know how to yet. he watched as the man called out for tatums turn to be next, being that he was right behind her.

tatum approached the booth, stabilizing his focus onto the small girl beside the mysterious man. he found it strange that they weren't talking to one another, instead the girl had a confused, if not nervous, look on her face. she did this a lot. he knew she was very skittish from the moment he laid eyes on her face. she always looked so happy, with a hint of nervousness in her body language. he liked this about the girl. it meant she would cling to him, and look to him for re-assurance and safety. she would depend on him.

after purchasing his ticket and walking through the entrance gate, he noticed the girl softly tapping her pointer finger onto the mans large arm from the side of his vision. he turned his head more toward the couple, trying to make out what she was saying to him as the man playfully rolled his eyes while handing her an admission ticket. tatum realized he would have to start learning to be able to read lips now that he found her. she was too quiet, and he liked that, but he wanted full access to hearing everything she had to say from this point on.

tatum slowed his pace as the girl swiftly got from around the man at the booth, to in front of himself in a matter of seconds. he judged by her movements that she was ecstatic to be there, and he didn't know why. he didn't understand why she seemed to be alone at the big event. the thought had crossed his mind that she would be meeting someone here, and he did not like that. the girl was too happy to be meeting with someone that wasn't him.

following the girl from behind, he grew more agitated as she furthered herself from him. men were staring, and although they had not spoken yet, he was not fond of this. of course, he had not decided that she was his girl yet, but he was a very possessive person. he had been told nothing less as he had grown up, and he couldn't help but slightly smirk to himself as he thought about proving to everyone around him just how possessive he could really be. especially, because he now had her.

she walked with determination, and his mind could not seem to grasp on a thought of where she would be going. he knew she wasn't exploring, he knew she had a destination, and he was anxious to find out. he had never been so curious about someone, especially not a girl. when he was little, he would grow large attachments to his friends. more often than not, this scared them away. he didn't understand why they felt the need to have other friends, they had him. his friends were his friends and he simply could not face the fact that they liked other kids, and not only him.

tatum sighed a breath of relief as he watched her turn on her feet, entering an exhibit with a warm smile on her face. for being so small, she was fast.

he waited a few seconds after her entrance to make his own. he knew she hadn't yet noticed him, or paid the slightest bit of attention to him, but he didn't want to push her away by startling her.

looking around, tatum was rather confused. this is where she wanted to go? a butterfly tent? he understood that girls liked pretty things, yes, but what was the interest of seeing a bug fly around? he didn't get it.

for a brief moment, tatum almost felt alarmed. he had lost sight of his little. he knew she couldn't be far, so he scanned the room once more. once his eyes set scene on the girl, he felt content again. he really enjoyed watching her, keeping track of her movements. he watched as she set her vision onto a group of children while smiling to herself. tatum came to the conclusion that it would be time to speak to her now. she was alone, the exhibit was quiet, and she was distracted.

as tatum approached the girl, he realized he actually had no plan. he also knew he didn't need one, though. she seemed easily approachable.

"name her yet?" he asked, startling the girl.

he didn't want to startle her, but he couldn't think of another way to approach the girl at large.

he watched as her face fell with disappointment, and he didn't understand why. he followed her gaze, until his eyes met upon a butterfly that had once sat on her arm, fly away from her due to her sudden movements. he felt bad, but he needed to hear her voice. and she wasn't giving him that.

"you jus- i was goin- i didn't get the chance-" the girl stuttered whilst watching the butterfly fly further away from her placement in the exhibit.

tatum didn't know much, but what he did know was that after she spoke, she was his. he knew this, and soon, she would too.