Chapter Ten: The Storm

For the next two days, Kate decided to sell papers with Blink, simply because she wanted to get to know him a little better. Jack thought he had done something wrong, but Kate reassured him that nothing was amiss. Still, he felt like something was up.

When Kate told Jack she was selling with Blink on the third day, Race knew he was clearly upset. When he tried to talk to him about it, Jack just shook him off and walked away.

When everyone returned to the lodging house that night, a few boys were downstairs as usual, while the rest were upstairs playing card games and such. The clouds looked like they were going to rip apart with thunder at any time. All of the newsies knew that the remaining thunderstorms left in the autumn would quickly turn to snow in a few weeks time, so they knew not to complain when a simple rain storm passed through.

Proceeded by a burst of laughter, Kate walked in with Blink in tow, laughing the hardest she had laughed in a long time. Jack was sitting by the window with Mush and David, and he looked less than happy.

"What's so funny?" asked Jack, obviously jealous of the attention Blink was receiving.

Kate saw Jack and blushed. "Nothing! Oh, Blink, he just kinda tripped on his own two feet, and fell flat on his face." She continued to laugh, while Jack continued to look quite put off.

"It was so funny, Jack, and hey! You tripped me!," he said, pointing at Kate. "Now my face is fulla dirt!" Blink proceeded to wipe his face with the underside of his shirt.

Jack got up and quickly walked up the stairs. Kate immediately stopped laughing and looked at Blink. He looked just as confused as she did. "What's wrong with Jack?" Kate asked. "What happened?"

However, neither Mush nor David had any idea either. Kate quickly turned to Blink and gave him a hug, thanking him for the day.

"Don't worry 'bout 'im, Kate. I'm sure it's nothin'," reassured Blink. Kate nodded and said goodnight to Blink, Mush and David, who repeated the same to her. She quickly ran upstairs to her room to look for Jack. Discouraged, she found the room completely empty. She wanted to see if he was all right, but unfortunately, he was no where to be found. Frustrated, Kate decided to turn in early, as she was exhausted from her day's work with Blink. Outside, a terrific bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, and a crash of thunder shook the entire lodging house.

-

Jack saw the thunderstorm start as well. After he ran upstairs, he ventured up to the roof, a place where he always came to be by himself and think. Why did I get myself involved wit' 'er? An' she likes Blink!, he thought. He kicked a stray pebble, letting out his frusteration. Carefully, he sat down on the roof's ledge, letting his feet dangle below him. He sat thinking like that for a long time, until the sound of footsteps behind him caused him to turn around.

"Oh, it's you," smirked Jack, as Blink came and sat down next to him.

"Hey Jack," he said. Before he could get another word out, Jack cut him off.

"Ya know, Blink, I thought we was friends."

Blink looked very confused. "We is friends, Jack, whattya tal-

"If ya had liked 'er, ya could've told me before!"

Again, Blink tried to get a word in. "Jack, she's-

"And now I'm gonna lose my best friend too! How could ya Blink? I mean-

"JACK!" Blink screamed. "Would'ya shuddap for a minute so I could talk?" Jack immediately stood up, face to face with Blink.

"Alls I gotta say is that you better watch yourself." A pointed finger shot out from Jack's side straight to Blink's chest. "'Cause she's a special girl, and I-

"JACK! FOR DA LOVE OF GAWD! Put a sock in it!" screamed Blink, exhausted, as he roughly grabbed Jack by the shoulders. "I do not like Kate dat way! Meeska, we'se simply friends, nothin' more."

"What?" spat Jack, contemptuously.

"I don't love 'er! She doesn't love me! We'se just been selling papes togetha as friends, Jack. Besides, don't you-

Blink cut himself off. He couldn't tell Jack how Kate felt about him. She made him promise not to. No, she would have to do it herself.

"-don't you know...that I wouldn't do dat to ya?" he stammered, obviously floundering for words. "I knows ya like 'er, lord, we all do." He threw his hands up into the air. "The only person that doesn't know is 'er!"

Jack looked astounded. He was speechless, which was something that didn't happen very often. Trying to maintain some level of composure, Jack said "Ya...ya don't like 'er? An' she doesn't like you..dat way?"

"No! Jack, I'm tellin' ya, we're just friends...nothing more."

Jack looked slightly more relieved. The whole day, this very topic had been on his mind. Now that it was all cleared up, he felt like a burden had been taken off his shoulders. He grinned.

"God, all dis time, an' I thought you two had somethin' goin' on," he said sheepishly.

Blink just shook his head and laughed. "No, but Jack, are ya gonna tell 'er how ya feel?" Jack turned away from Blink and stared out across the New York skyline. "I mean, ya feel somethin' for 'er, right?" Jack nodded slowly.

"Well, would ya want 'er ta be your girl?" he asked.

Jack turned to him. "Yeah. Yeah, Blink, I think I do. I just don't know how ta say it. She's been through a lot. I dunno how she'd take ta me askin' 'er."

"Well, talk to her, or something." Just then, an idea hit Blink. "Medda's! Ask 'er ta go ta Medda's wit' ya on Saturday!"

Jack's face lit up. "'At's a good idea, Blink! I mean, she used ta be in da theater? She'd prolly like it, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sure she would," reassured Blink. A raindrop hit Blink on the back of his hand.

"Tanks for the idea, Blink!" he shouted, as he began to make his way back downstairs.

"Tomorrow, Jack! She's probably already asleep!" shouted Blink, as the rain finally began to pour out of the sky.

"All right. Tanks, Blink," said Jack.

"Don't worry 'bout it," said Blink, as the two headed inside.

Jack slowly crept into his room, and, as Blink said, Kate was already asleep. He quickly changed in the dark, and climbed up into his bunk bed. He felt so stupid for acting the way he did downstairs. And all of this, because he thought Blink would have taken his girl. His girl? She wasn't even that yet. Jack wanted her to be. He wanted it so badly. He liked her from the moment he met her. Of course, being Manhattan's leader, it wasn't so easy for him to admit that. But how would he ask her? At Medda's. He could ask her at Medda's. He pondered this for about a half an hour, as the storm raged outside. He felt like waking her up and apologizing. He laid in his bed, thinking until he finally succumbed to the night and fell asleep.

"Splendid performance tonight, my angel," he mumbled, his speech quite slurred from the alcohol.

"Archie, please don't," she begged. "Not tonight."

His gaze traveled from her face to other regions of her body, still exposed from her cabaret costume. He began to stagger towards her.

"Not tonight?" he repeated. "Not TONIGHT?" His voice was growing louder.

"Archie, please, I didn't mean it like that. Please don't get-

Suddenly, he lunged foward and grabbed her by the throat, gazing deep into her eyes. The smell of whiskey was so powerful that it nearly caused her to pass out.

"Now, you listen, girl, and listen well. You will never escape me." He violently turned her towards her mirror, forcing her to stare at the reflection. "You are a slut and nothing more. Do you honestly think you could ever be anything else?"

Still forcing her gaze on the mirror, his lips wandered to her neck and upper back, and his hands ventured lower. Her entire body instinctively tensed as her breathing became shallow. He momentarily stopped.

"What?" he whispered. "Oh, I know. You're thinking of him." He laughed sadistically. "Do you really think he loves you? A whore?" He put his mouth directly next to her ear. "My whore?"

Before she knew it, he was upon her, placing his hands wherever he chose, each touch more repulsive. She attempted to resist, but her efforts were futile. He was just too strong. He began to unbutton her shirt as he sneered a final word into her ear. "Why would he care for a piece of garbage like you?"

"Stop...please...no, don't...get away from...me."

Jack awoke with a start. He heard something. He thought it was Kate's voice, but then again, he could have been dreaming about her. When he heard it again, Jack leaned over the side of his bed to find Kate tossing and turning in her sleep.

"I'm sorry! Please...stop...you're hurting me..." She then started to cry. Jack immediately got down from his bed and went over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her.

"Let go...stop...please!"

"Kate!" Jack shouted. "Kate! Wake up!" He shook her shoulders, attempting to rouse her and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Don't kill me...please, let...me..go!" she shouted. Jack, with a final attempt, firmly shook her, and grabbed her shoulders. She awoke with a start, thinking she was still in the dream.

"No! Let me go! Stop!" She thrashed wildly as she tried to break away from Jack.

"Kate! Stop! It's Jack! Calm down!" He grabbed her arms and made her look at him. Sobbing uncontrollably, she finally realized it was Jack, and collapsed into his arms, shaking. He held her close, and she hugged him very tightly, still reacting to the dream.

"Shh, shh. It's alright," he said, softly. "It was just a nightmare, you're back here now...wit' me." He stroked her hair with his hand, and she gradually stopped shaking, clutching onto him.

"Oh, God. It was awful. I dreamed I was back there, with him...and...he said..." She trailed off and began to cry again.

"Shh," Jack whispered. "He's not here."

She nodded, and heaved a deep sigh. They sat like that until Kate had calmed down a little bit.

"You all right now?" Jack asked. Kate nodded and loosened her grip on Jack. Feeling like there was nothing he could do, and still not able to reveal his feelings for her, Jack began to get up to go back to his bunk, when Kate pulled him back.

"Jack...will...will you stay just a little longer?" she asked timidly.

Jack looked into her eyes. "Sure," he said. He sat back down on her bunk, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. A cool swift breeze swept throw their room, flittering Kate's hair around her head. Jack put a protective arm around her and said "Nothing is going to happen ta you. I promise."

They sat like that for a few minutes longer, until Jack noticed that Kate had fallen asleep. Ever so carefully, he laid her back down on her pillow, and covered her up with her blanket. As he quietly made his way back to his own bunk, the thunderstorm outside slowly dissapated, leaving only a gentle fog in its trace.