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So, what do you guys think so far?

David was sprawled out across his bed, which was littered with his school notes, enjoying the peace and quiet that so rarely occurred in the Jacobs home. He had a test tomorrow that accounted for a third of his grade, and he'd been diligently studying all evening. Unfortunately for him, his peace wasn't about to last.

The door flew open. Sarah stomped inside, slamming the door shut after her. David flew off the bed in fright. He rounded the corner to see who it was.

"Sarah! What's wrong?" he rushed to her side as she burst into tears.

"Jack Kelly!" she sputtered between sobs.

"What happened?" he sat her down at the table.

"We got into an argument before work, when he was walking me home. He was acting so strangely during lunch, surely you noticed him sulking. Well, I asked him what was wrong, and all of a sudden he's telling me that he doesn't want to be in New York anymore, and he still wants to go to Santa Fe! I couldn't believe him. You know who's influence this is, don't you?"

"I can take a wild guess," David cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't trust that girl at all. Surely you've seen the way she looks at him..."

"I noticed, and I don't trust her either."

"How could he be considering leaving again? Has he forgotten the last eighteen months? He's got a family now, it's what he always wanted, and he's going to turn his back on us?"

"I think she's trying to coax Jack into going out to Kansas with her." David said suddenly, "I knew the minute I saw her talk to Jack that she'd be trouble."

"You don't think he'll fall for it, do you?" Sarah's cheeks were flushed and wet with tears.

"No, Sarah, I don't. Jack's just confused right now, I'm sure. I think I'll head over to the Lodging House and go talk to him tonight."

Sarah smiled appreciatively.

"Thank you, David."

"Now you try to calm down, alright? I'll just have to remind him why he stayed here- you." He pulled on his jacket as she wiped her eyes.

David welcomed the brisk air on his face as he made the trek over to the Lodging House, his hands jammed into his pockets. He'd been able to control his anger in front of Sarah; he didn't want to alarm her. But David Jacobs was seeing red.

I can't believe him… The nerve! Does he take me for a fool? Like I couldn't see right away what's been going on between the two of them? And suddenly he's talking about taking off again? I thought he was smarter than this- letting some dumb girl he just met get between him and Sarah. And if he breaks her heart, I swear, I'll break him. I never should have even let him near my sister in the first place, especially after the shit he pulled during the strike…

He had always been weary of Jack, for obvious reasons. There were all those improved truths of his, and of course the whole debacle with going back to Pulitzer. He'd been forgiven a long time ago- he'd redeemed himself by saving Sarah and Les from the Delanceys and with their newspaper- but David never forgot: with Jack, you could never be 100% sure what the whole story was. He wondered now what precisely it was that Jack was keeping to himself.

David reached the Lodging House, waved genially at Kloppman and made his way up the staircase. He could hear the boys chattering and laughing in the main room. Tumbler and Boots were playing cards on the floor with Blink. Another group of boys were laughing in the back. Skittery was splayed across his bunk, book in hand. David scanned the room for Jack, but there was no sign of him.

"Oh, hey there Davey!" Boots called brightly upon seeing him.

"Hey Boots."

"Hey Davey, what brings you to our humble abode?" Blink smirked.

"I was looking for Jack, any of you guys seen him?"

Skittery looked up from his book, his interest piqued.

"Naw, I ain't seen him all day."

"Not since Tibby's," Tumbler confirmed.

"He might have gone over to Medda's, I heard Race and Mush talking about going tonight," Skittery spoke up.

"Oh, ok. I'll wait. So how'd your day with Marie go?" David strode toward Skittery's bunk as he sat up slowly.

"It was wonderful. We showed her the city, and got to talk more. She told us all about the places she's been, and the painting she wants to do here… She's one heck of a girl."

"Certainly is…"

The sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs made David turn. Race walked in, followed quickly by Mush.

"Heya Davey! Aw man, you shoulda seen her. She's got the voice of an angel, and a body to match!" Mush held his hand over his heart, staggering into the room.

"Hey Mush, Race. How was the show?"

"Like you have to ask! That Lydia is a dream come true," Race chuckled, a dazed expression on his face.

"Is Jack still over at Irving?"

"Jack? No, he wasn't there. I hadn't seen Jack since lunch."

David's mouth pressed into a firm line.

"What's wrong, Dave?" Skittery asked.

"I just had to talk to him about something."

"Eh, you know Jack. He's like a cat. He comes and goes without any warning," Skittery replied nonchalantly.

And I'm sure I know where he's been disappearing to, David thought bitterly. He looked up at Skittery as an idea crossed his mind.

"Skittery, remember when your papes got ruined in that thunderstorm last month and I gave you half of mine?"

"Yeah, and thanks again for that. I still owe you."

"Good, I need a favor from you."

"What can I do for you?"

David looked around suddenly. Mush and Race had joined the others on the floor and weren't paying any attention.

"I need you to keep an eye on Jack."

Skittery raised an eyebrow.

"You want me to spy on Jack?" he said skeptically.

"Yeah, I know how it sounds, but I am worried about him. I think he's getting a little too close to Marie. It's got Sarah uncomfortable, and I don't want it going any further. And he's been disappearing more often. I need to know where he's going and if he's going to start screwing around on my sister."

"Marie's a good girl, I don't think you gotta worry about nothing." Skittery began to protest.

"Jack can be pretty persuasive. Just follow him and tell me where he goes."

Skittery frowned. David was right, he owed him.

"Fine. But there's probably nothing to report to you."

"I hope not, but like I said, I need to know." David spit into his hand, extending it to Skittery, who reluctantly followed in suit.

"I've gotta get back home, but I'll talk to you tomorrow," he turned to the other guys, "Good night guys! See ya tomorrow."

He hurried down the stairs and back home.

Jack swiped angrily at the tear trickling slowly down his cheek. He shivered as the breeze began to pick up.

You'd think after all this time, I wouldn't be so surprised when things go from bad ta worse… But here I am falling apart, and crying like a dumbass.

After Marie had made him leave, he was left for the second time that day to stand in the middle of the sidewalk, completely bewildered. Not knowing where else to go, he headed home.

I can't believe I could be this dumb. Marie couldn't get me out the door fast enough. She's gotta hate me right now… I can't believe I did this to her.

He realized that he hadn't felt any guilt over what he'd just done to Sarah. The growing resentment toward her, which he'd been burying for the last few months, had seemed to finally bubble over. He wasn't hurt anymore by Sarah's reaction earlier in the day, just pissed off that he'd been trying to ignore her stubbornness.

It just ain't right for me to have to give up everything for her, and never get a break. I deserve my dreams, too. Maybe I'm selfish, no, I know I am, but I don't care anymore. Somehow after his brief visit to Marie's, Jack's head had cleared. It finally clicked- it wasn't working anymore, and he didn't want to try to salvage it. And that's okay, he told himself, I can be free again. I don't have to keep quiet about what I want anymore. And what I want… To get out of this damned city. And… Marie. I need her to come with me. I've got to win her over somehow.

His mind turned to the small book in his pocket. An idea flitted into his brain, and a small smile crept onto his face as he wiped away the last tear.

He entered the Lodging House, bid Kloppman a good night, and headed up the stairs. There were only a few minutes before lights out. He was greeted with plenty of "Hey Cowboy!"s and "Where ya been, Jack?"s.

"Hey guys, I just went for a really long walk," he made eye contact with Skittery, who was looking up from his book.

"David was looking for you," Skittery told him, cocking an eyebrow.

"Davey was here?" he sounded surprised.

Of course she went crying for Dave to come interferin' with everything.

"Yeah, and he looked upset," Skittery gave him a pointed look. Jack grimaced.

"Jack, what happened?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"I had a bit of an argument with Sarah. I came to Marie's because I needed to ask her for some advice. Seeing as she's a girl, I thought she could help."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I don't want to talk about it, alright?"

"That's fine," Skittery turned back to his book, "Good night."

Jack nodded in reply. He climbed onto his bunk and pulled the journal out of his pocket. He lightly traced his finger over the supple brown leather. There was a dark pink ribbon attached to the binding to save the page. It reminded him of the shade Marie's face had taken immediately after their kiss.

That amazing, heart-stopping kiss.

He pulled a stubby pencil from his pocket and began writing furiously.