Author's Note: Hello, hello, hello! I'm back with a sequel to Kelly, J! Yay! If you haven't, I suggest that you read Kelly, J before reading this, but I suppose you could piece things together.

I've got about 10 chapters planned for this? (And I actually made a physical outline, it's not just in my head!) We'll see how it goes! Thank you to Ostrich On A Rampage (and her roommate!) for helping me plot this out!

Also, note: there are a lot of weird time jumps. Basically, each chapter starts in the present, right after Kelly, J, and when there's a gray line, it means the next section is in the past, before Kelly, J. Then, the section after that is in in the present, and so-on and so-forth.

This chapter isn't the most exciting, but it'll pick up soon! Thanks for sticking with me!

I hope you enjoy! Reviews are highly appreciated! Thanks for reading!

Manhattan is a huge, towering city. Anyone who's lived there knows that living in such a place can make one feel like a tiny speck. The menacingly tall buildings and crowds of thousands that push and shove their way around constantly just emphasizes how small you can be in the scheme of things. You start to let the faces blend. You start to forget that each face has a story. So, you wouldn't bat an eye at a boy on the roof of some apartment building, laying on his stomach and sketching the stars above him. When you're weaving your way through the endless crowds, no one would think to look up at this boy and consider that maybe he's just started a completely new chapter of his story, a story that's much longer and more complicated than you'd expect any 17 year-old's story to be.

But, he has.

Jack Kelly has been at his new foster home for a good week, adjusting to both life in a new home and life outside of a hospital room. He'd had to spend the past week mostly bedridden as what was left of his wounds still healed, which wasn't how he'd hoped to spend his time, but with his kind foster mother, Medda, it wasn't too bad. She'd redress his injuries daily, putting some weird yet good-smelling herbal remedies on the gashes, and she made sure he got outside a couple times each day. "A boy's got to get some fresh air." She'd say. Jack would argue that the air in Manhattan was far from fresh, but he was still having trouble wrapping his head around the kindness of this woman.

Earlier that day, Medda offered the roof to Jack, or, as she called it, "the penthouse." So, Jack had gladly spent the past four hours up there, taking in the view and the wind and the noise of the city, which had been reduced to more of a buzz than a roar by that time of night. He drew the stars, and he reveled in the stars. He used to complain that he couldn't see the stars because of all the smog, but after all the time he'd spent locked in that hospital room, he was now able to notice each and every little bright orb that hung in the sky, realizing just how much he'd missed them.

Outside still felt strange to Jack, even though Medda had let him get out all week. But, in the past month, he only saw sunlight in the form of his roommate's smile, which made Jack feel warmer than the actual sun could ever make him feel, but it didn't exactly provide Vitamin D.

Plus, his previous foster dad didn't let him get out much. The walk to and from school was about the only time Jack got to take in the outside, except for when he'd sneak to Davey's house.

So, more than a few minutes outdoors was quite the treat.

"Jack!"

Jack flinched before realizing that it was only Medda coming to check on him. "Sorry, hon," She smiled softly, knowingly. "Just wanted to know how much longer you planned on hanging out up here."

"Have I been up here too long?" Jack's eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Medda shook her head. "Of course not. I just think you should try and get some sleep soon, you need it."

Jack bit his lip and looked around. He'd wanted to ask this since the moment he got up there, but the last thing he wanted to do was overstep his boundaries. But, Medda's smile was so warm, and the air just felt so nice, so, in an uncharacteristically meek voice, he asked, "I-I was actually wonderin', Miss Medda, if I could maybe sleep up here?"

Medda's eyebrows raised, and a pit in Jack's stomach told him that he shouldn't have asked. It was a weird question, it was rude, she gave him such a nice room and nice bed, and now, here he was saying that he'd rather sleep on hard concrete than-

"Sure, honey, if you'd be comfortable."

Jack's mind paused. "Really?"

Medda nodded and smiled again. "Of course. Do you wanna bring your mattress up here?"

Jack lit up. "Yeah! Yeah, that'd be great!"

Jack lept to his feet to help Medda bring up the mattress, but she stopped him quickly. "Uh-uh. You're still in recovery."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Aww, c'mon, a couple bruises say that I can't bring up a mattress?"

Medda nodded. "Just in case."

Jack rolled his eyes again as Medda turned to leave. She was just about to go when she gasped and turned back. "Oh, Jack! I wanted to let you know, there's a sweet boy comin' back to the group home nearby tomorrow. I don't know if you got to talk to the other kids at the hospital, but this kid was in the same place as you. He's got a chronic leg condition that-"

For the second time that night, Jack's whole face brightened. "Crutchie?"

Medda chuckled. "I take it you know him."

"Yes, of course!" Jack beamed. "We roomed together, and he was so nice and…" He trailed off, feeling his cheeks heat up as he remembered just how he'd said goodbye to Crutchie. He thought they wouldn't see each other again, so why not be impulsive?

Oh, boy.

Medda laughed again. "Well, he's coming home to the group home he lives in tomorrow, so perhaps, you two can see each other."

Jack grinned from ear-to-ear. "Yeah, yeah, I'd like that."

"Alright," Medda smiled and headed down to get the mattress.

Jack sighed and laid down on his back, staring straight up at the stars. Maybe what he'd said to Crutchie a week ago was right; maybe things would be okay.

Jack had sat alone in the small room he'd been provided, feeling a burning in his stomach. Sometimes the homes he got were good, sometimes they were bad, and Jack could usually tell which it would be within the first night. That might, he'd gotten the impression that it would be the latter this time around.

His new foster dad, Snyder, just seemed disappointed that Jack was here. It made him wonder what made Snyder want to foster in the first place. A good image?

It beat Jack. It was times like these that made him wish he had a time machine. Closing his eyes and remembering the way his mother told him stories and his father tucked him in wasn't enough to actually make the past reappear.

Jack just wished he wasn't alone.

"Kelly."

The door swung open, and Snyder's shadow stood in the doorway. "What are you doing up?"

Jack blinked. "Ah, I couldn't sleep, Snyder."

"That's 'sir'," Snyder snapped. "I told you to go asleep. You're gonna be a troublesome one, aren't you?"

Jack gave a crooked grin, hoping internally that a joke would crack the ice. "Trouble's what I do best."

Snyder didn't laugh. "I'm gonna have to straighten you out. Just what I needed." He sighed. "Go to sleep." Then, he slammed the door.

Jack blinked, stunned. The burning in his stomach worsened. He shook his head and laid down. Maybe Snyder had just had a bad day.

He'd learn to live with this.

But, the burning told him that he'd rather be far away.

Jack stood by the door, tapping his foot eagerly. Buttons had called Medda a few minutes before and said that he and Romeo were bringing Crutchie over, and he didn't know that Jack would be there. So, naturally, Jack had to ensure that he'd be there to answer the door.

"Miss Meddaaaaaa," Jack moaned. "What's taking them so long?"

"Patience is a virtue, hon," Medda smirked.

Just as Jack was about to respond, a knock on the door made him jump. Grinning wider than you'd think possible, he swung open the door. "Did ya miss me?"

An even wider grin than Jack's split Crutchie's face. "Jack!" He lunged forward and enveloped Jack in a hug.

Jack giggled, hugging back. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

Crutchie pulled back,his face bright. Jack took in the sight of the boy. He was no longer in a hospital gown, of course, but instead was clad in flannel pajamas with a hoodie lazily pulled over it and a striped scarf tossed around his neck. He had more color in his face than he had at the hospital, making Jack realize just how sickly the boy had looked when they'd first met. Of course, he still had a rather peaky look about him; Jack couldn't tell if it was just due to the fact that he'd just had surgery or if he always looked like that.

"What are you doin' here, Jack?" Crutchie asked, happiness edging each word.

"Well, Miss Medda is my new foster mom," Jack announced proudly.

Crutchie gasped. Then, he lept forward to hug Jack again, but he let go of his crutch and quickly lost his balance. It was Jack's turn to gasp as he and Buttons rushed to catch Crutchie.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Crutchie went red, clearly hating the attention. As he readjusted the crutch under his arm, he sheepishly continued, "Sorry, I'm still kinda weak from surgery."

"Ah, sorry, Crutch," Jack frowned.

Crutchie waved him off. "It's fine. But, you're-you're actually living with Medda?"

"Right now I am," Jack beamed. "And, I'se loved it here so far."

"Well, of course!" Crutchie replied. "It's Medda, how could you not? Oh, Jack, I'm gonna have to have you over, you can meet all the other boys, and there's this coffee shop by my house I wanna show you, and- ahh!"

Jack laughed. "Glad you're so excited."

"Says the boy who literally screamed when I told him that Crutchie was coming over." Medda called, making Jack's cheeks heat up.

Romeo peeked around Crutchie, somehow even shorter than him. "Did ya miss me too? Even though you only met me once?"

Jack chuckled and ruffled Romeo's already-messy hair. "Of course I did."

"And I'm Buttons," Buttons spit on his hand and stuck out it out for Jack to take, who quickly did the same.

Medda walked up behind them, shaking her head. "Is the spit-shake some unspoken code y'all have?"

"It's a bond of trust, Medda," Buttons said seriously.

Crutchie smirked, looking down before looking back up at Jack. "It's really nice to see you outside of a hospital room."

"You too, Crutch."

Buttons put his hand on Crutchie's shoulder. "Well, we should probably get this one back to our place."

Jack nodded. "I'll come to your place tomorrow?" Suddenly, Jack tensed up and glanced at Medda, fear suddenly shining in his eyes. "I-I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Sure it is," Medda answered gently. "Just don't spend too much time there, since you still need to rest."

Jack let out a breath of relief. "Thanks."

Crutchie smirked. "See ya tomorrow?"

Jack nodded. "Until tomorrow."

As Crutchie and the others left, Jack realized that neither of them brought up the thimble. His face involuntarily heated up again as he told himself that he'd wait for Crutchie to mention it, because he certainly did not want to face the embarrassment.

"Well, hello, again," A voice called after Katherine.

Katherine rolled her eyes. The new kid had been flirting with her all day. She thought she'd escaped it when she left school, but evidently, she hadn't.

"Please go away," She sighed.

"But, this is the way to my place," Jack shrugged. Raising an eyebrow at Katherine, he added, "Besides, I like the view."

"Are you this annoying to every girl?" Katherine sighed.

"Hey, I got standards!" Jack retorted. "I don't just find beautiful, smart, independent girls every day. And, breaking news: You fall into all three of the aforementioned categories."

Katherine rolled her eyes once more. "Here's a headline for you: Cheeky Boy Gets Nothing For His Troubles."

Jack chuckled. "Ooh-hoo-hoo. I struck out."

"Please go away, I'm not in the habit of talking to strangers," Katherine huffed.

"But aren't you in journalism?" Jack questioned. "You're gonna make a lousy journalist with that attitude."

Katherine shook her head as she made the turn to approach her neighborhood, which was an upper-class, gated community. (It was also a dreadfully boring place, in her opinion.) "I thought you said you lived in an apartment building?" Katherine asked, raising an eyebrow at Jack.

"I prefer to call it a hell-hole, but same-difference, really," Jack shrugged.

"Then, why are you coming this way?" Katherine questioned. "There aren't any apartments where I'm headed."

"Maybe I don't wanna head home quite yet." Jack replied easily, but this answer didn't help.

"Are you following me?" Katherine accused, stopping short and turning around to face Jack, arms crossed. "Because I can call the police on you."

"What? No!" Jack scoffed. "I just-" He sighed. "I don't know, I was just tryin' to talk to ya, sheesh. But, if you ain't havin' that, I guess I'll go." With that, he walked away, looking dejected.

Katherine felt kind of bad afterward, but she quickly shook it off. He was invading her space, and that wasn't right, even if he didn't want to go home.

But, she couldn't help but wonder where Jack went after he left her, because he certainly didn't seem to have any intention of going home.