First off, thank you to all who have reviewed, suscribed, and the likes, it really means a lot and it really helps me contniue writting. Oh, also, I've decided not to do Rose or Jack's POV, but if you guys REALLY object to his decision, I might change my mind.

Love and Other Stuff,

Lauren:)

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Grace squealed. I rolled my eyes as she and my mother started giggling.

"It's not that big of a deal." I explained. Grace amd mom both exchanged looks of sure... and continued to giggle.

"Really mom? You should be the one upset about this, not happy!" I complained. My mother smiled and rolled her eyes as she made her way around the bar.

"You know I was in love once too," she started "And I hated how my mother got upset about it." Then, as usual, mother became lost in her memories.

"Uh, Grace, why don't we go out shopping for new dresses for the play tonight." I said, quickly changing the subject. Grace flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled.

"When have I ever turned down a shopping adventure?" Grace asked excitedly. I rolled my eyes and got up out of my seat as Grace walked out the door. As I was to leave, though, I turned around and smiled at my mother.

"And it's not love," I said "It was just a kiss." Mother laughed and continue chopping oninons, what she was doing before Grace spilled the news, as I walked out the door.

"Wow, Emma, that dress looks lovely on you!" Grace said as I walked out of the stall wearing a white and yellow frock.

"Thanks." I said modestly, twirling in my dress as I did. Suddenly, Will came running through the door of our small little boutique here in town.

"Ah," he said "I thought you'd be he-" he started, but then stopped mid sentence when he saw me in my dress.

"Woa!" he continued "You look, great!" I smiled, then blushed.

"Thanks, Will." I said. He continued looking at me, with a daze in his eyes, when he suddenly remembered why he had came here in the first place.

"Oh, yeah! I got the tickets for the play!" he practically screamed. Grace stood up from the seat she was sitting in and grabbed the tickets from Will.

"Wait, Will," she started "You bought four tickets you big dunce!" Grace then hit Will in the arm.

"God Grace, a simple "Oh Will, you bought the wrong amount of tickets, silly!" would work just as well!" Will complained. I laughed and walked over to them both. Suddenly, a thought ran through my mind.

"Wait," I said grabbing the extra ticket "I know who I could give it to!"

As I walked through the park, I scanned the entire area for Jack. I knew I wanted to give him the ticket to go see Mom's show, but I wasn't sure how he'd react.

Suddenly, I spotted a man sitting on my bench, sketchpad in hand. As I walked closer, I saw him run his fingers through his hair, and I knew immediatley, it was Jack.

"I didn't know you draw." I said. Jack turned around and smiled, rubbing his hand over the drawing of the little girl and her dog, who were more over to our right.

"Uh, yeah, but it's our little secret." he joked. I laughed and sat down on the bench next to him.

"So listen," I began "Remember how I said my mother was in the town play?" He raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"I think I recall the conversation." I smiled and pulled out the extra ticket from my coat pocket.

"Well, Will,"

"The one who called you beautiful." Jack interrupted. I laughed and nodded to confirm.

"Heh, yes, well he bought an extra ticket by mistake and I was wondering if you'd like to go." I held out the ticket and folded it into his hand. He stared at it for a second, then up at me.

"Uh, Em, I don't think I-" I suddenly got up and started slowly walking backwards.

"Oh yes you can, because I'm leaving you with the ticket." he smiled and laughed, putting the ticket into his pants pocket.

"We'll see." he said. I smiled and started walking away, when he called after me.

"Hey, Em!" he yelled. I turned around and smiled.

"Thanks for thinking of me, you know, for the play." he said "It made me, happy." I smiled again and walked out of the park, happy I thought of him too.

"Ooh, he's here!" Mrs. Callaghan cried as she and Grace saw William walking up the steps of the porch. I walked over to them and grabbed the back of their dresses.

"Will you too please act normal?" I begged. Mrs. Callaghan smiled and went back over to the kitchen. Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door, and I had to run to beat Grace to the door. I slowly turned the door knob and opened the door to find William dressed up in his nicest suit, hair slicked back, and a beautiful corsage in his hands.

"Will," I said as he handed me the small, pink bouquet "It's, it's beautiful." he smiled and stepped inside, waving at Mrs. Callaghan.

"Hello Mrs. C." he said as he helped the corsage onto my wrist. Mrs. Callaghan smiled and waved, trying to hold back her excitement.

"Well," Grace said "Let's go!" Will and I rolled our eyes while smiling, and headed out the door.

"I don't see him." I said while sitting in one of the front row seats in the middle of Grace and Will. Will put his hand on my shoulder and squeased tightly.

"Don't worry," he said "He'll be here." I sank back down in my seat and sighed.

He better come, I thought He better come.

About an hour into the play, when I had finally given up, the door opened from behind all of us who were seated, and the bright light of outside blinded us. When I had regained my eyesight partially, I squinted, and saw none other than, Jack. I smiled broadly, and waved him over to where we had saved him a seat. He smiled as well and walked over. He was dressed pretty well, suit, bow tie, gelled back hair, the works, but what particularly caught my eyes, were ironically, his eyes.

"I told you." Will bragged. I rolled my eyes and playfully elbowed him in the stomach. Jack sat down next to me, and I officially introduced him to the gang.

Mom wasn't on stage at the moment, and I thought that that was good. It would be kind of weird for her to look out at the crowd and see some strange man sitting next to her daughter without have even being introduced.

When the curtain flew up, I knew that it was intermition, and I thought that this would be the perfect time to let mom and Jack meet.

"Alright, time for me to go." Jack said, standing up and surprising me. My eyes went wide and I stood up as well.

"What? No, you can't go, I want to introduce you to my mom." I explained. Jack smiled and looked at the floor.

"Emma, I had a great time tonight, thank you for the ticket." He grabbed my hand and kissed it, then started to walk away, but Emma Dawson doesn't let people get off that easily.

"Wait!" I yelled after him. He turned around and when he did, I almost knocked into him again.

"Please, have dinner with my mother and I tomorrow night." I begged. "Just, just go to Callaghans at six and we'll meet you there." Jack sighed, and thought about it for a moment, and finally came to a decision.

"Fine," he said "But only for a hour, I have work." I smiled and gave him a large hug, not caring that I didn't belive that work was the reason he was only staying for a short amount of time.

"Thanks." I whispered. He smiled and patted my head.

"No problem Rose." he said. I pulled back slowly, confusion plastered on my face.

"Rose?" I questioned "Jack, it's me, Emma." Jack's eyes grew lage, and he scratched his head.

"Uh, sorry, you just remind me of, I was just thinking, I, I have to go. Thank you again Emma." he said flustered. He then pushed past me, storming out of the theater, leaving me scared and and confused.

Why did he call me Rose? I asked myseslf. Did he mean my mother?

Later that night, while mother was at her second performance, I sat on the porch steps, confused and upset.

What was that about? I asked myself, referring to Jack's name slip. I sighed, and positioned my body to where I was lying flat on my back on the step. I looked up at the now dark sky, and suddenly, a shooting star flashed through the sky, and I smiled, relishing in a memory I had shared with my mother when I was about nine.

"In the air she goes, there she goes! Up, up, a little bit higher, oh, my, the moon is on fire!" Mother sang as she sat on my bed next to me. Suddenly, a flashing light skimmed past out window. Mother and I looked at eachother and ran to the window. Just as the shooting star went out of sight, mother smiled.

"You know, that's a soul going to heaven." she informed me. I smiled as well and leaned my head out the window, feeling the wind brush against me.

Mom leaned down next to me and whispered,

"Where to miss?" she always asked me this at bedtime, it was a routine.

"To the stars," I replied, looking out the window "To the stars..."

-
The next day, Will and I walked through town laughing about what he had seen in a Nickelodeon once.

"I sware, true story!" he claimed between chuckles. I laughed until my stomach hurt and put my hand on Will's shoulder, trying to catch my breath.

"Oh, god, the poor man must have been embarassed." I presumed. Will rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Not as much as the rest of us, you know, for even coming to the show," I giggled, and Will wrapped his arm around me.

"So Miss. Girlfriend," he said jokingly "Are you nervous about dinner later?" I sighed, remembering my and Jack's dinner plans.

"Yes! I haven't even told my mom yet." Will rolled his eyes and laughed.

"That's my Emma, the little procrastinator." I kissed him on the cheek and smiled.

"Yeah, yeah."

As I finished setting the table for dinner with mom and Jack, mother came running down the stairs.

"Alright sweetie I'll see you later." she said while grabbing her coat. I dropped the fork in shock and ran over to her.

"What, what do you mean "See you later."?" I asked nervously. She looked at me with an eyebrow raised and continued grabbing her things.

"I told you yesterday, Em, James asked me out to dinner again." she explained. I threw my hand to my head, and sighed.

"Mom, you can't go!" I yelled "I invited someone over to dinner that I want you to meet." she smiled and patted my head.

"I'm sorry sweatheart, maybe another time, okay?" she asked. I rolled my eyes an sat down on one of the bar stools. As she walked out the door, waving as she went, I mumbled to myself,

"No, not okay."

Ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. I shot up and smiled.

Jack! I thought.

I stood up and ran to the door, opening it quickly, but who I found, was certainly not Jack.

"Hello," the man said "Is there a, Rose, around?" I peekeed my head outside and saw another man standing next to a fancy looking car. Suddenly, a knot formed in my stomach, and I sensed something was wrong. Then, just as I was about to respond to the man's question, Jack came peering around the corner. My eyes went wide, and the man must have noticed this because he turned around, but clever Jack, who must have felt the same way I did, went back around the corner quickly.

"Uh, no," I said quickly, as the man turned back around "You must have the wrong address." I closed the door quickly, but he put his hand in front of it.

"Well, if you see her, tell her that I have a bone to pick with her." he said as a smirk ran across his face. I looked into his dark brown eyes, and almost puked. I pushed his hand out of the way and closed the door quickly, then locked it. Then I went around to the window, and watched the man and his friend leave. Jack then came back around the corner, and I unlocked the door. He ran up the steps and knocked on the door. I opened it and ran into him. He wrapped his arms around me and sighed.

"Who was that?" I asked nervously. He shook his head as he held my face, stepping into the restaurant.

"I, I don't know. I didn't get a good look at him." he explained. A tear streamed down my face, and I started to cry.

"Jack, Jack he was looking for my mom." I told him. He sat me down on a chair and pinned back my hair behind my ear.

"It's going to be alright Emma, don't worry." he reassured me. I frowned, and put my head into my hands.

"Did he tell you his name?" Jack asked. I shook my head. Jack sighed, and pulled up a chair next to me.

"He just said if you see her, tell her I have a bone to pick with her." I cried more, hearing those word again, and Jack put his hand back around me.

"Well, isn't she here, aren't we having dinner?" he asked. I sat up straight and shook my head again.

"She blew us off for that, guy," I explained "Of course, I hadn't told her about tonight, but still!" Jack laughed and wiped a tear from my face.

"Well, that might have helped, now wouldn't it." I stood up, suddenly irritated, and pointed a finger in Jack's face.

"Look, mister, if you're going to be rude and presumptuous, then you might as well just leave." Jack's eyes suddenly clouded, and he looked away quickly.

"What?" I asked. He smiled and shook his head.

"You just remind me of someone I used to know." I bit my lip and sat back down again.

"Was her name, Rose?" I asked. He turned around, wide eyed, and raised an eyebrow.

"How did you-"

"Remember, you called me Rose at my mother's play last night." Jack smiled, and pulled out his sketchpad.

"Yeah, that's her." he confirmed. He flipped to a page in his sketchpad of a woman standing on the deck of a boat, looking down.

"Is that from life?" I asked him. He laughed again, and I guessed I reminded him of his "friend" once more.

"Uh, no, from memory." he said "I met her on a ship." I pointed at the sketchpad, meaning "can I take it?" and he nodded. I held the sketchpad in my hands and ran my fingers of the girls face. For a moment, I thought of mother. The girl in the photo almost looked like a younger version of her.

"How long ago was this?" I asked. He scratched his head and thought for a moment.

"Mhm, actually, fourteen years Wednesday." he said. Jack ran his fingers through his hair before taking back the sketchpad.

"Anyways, where's the food, 'cause I'm starvin' " I laughed and went around back to the kitchen.

Strange, I thought They met on a ship...

Again, written kind of awkwardly, but I think it's a good chapter. The mystery man thing just kind of came to me. Can you guess who it is? :)