It is time for yet another chapter of JAS! We'll see what's going on for the gang today, and see that familiar friend as well. Harry has a bit of a moment here with Theo, April, and Alya, and the four kids get another surprise. And not a good one. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's.

Chapter 15: Dancers, Death, Danger, Dinner

The next day began the gang's day in Durham. They decided to take a walk around downtown to see the sights and such. This time, they stayed together as a group instead of splitting off. Mostly for everyone's safety this time.

Albert yet again had a special surprise for everyone planned, and it was at the Durham Performing Arts Center. When Sondra asked what it was... all her father said is that it would be something she would like very much.

And sure enough, once they made it to the center by the afternoon, they were greeted by one of the workers, "How do you do?" She asked, "I'm Addison, and I'll be your guide. Now you are..."

"Junkyard Family," Albert answered.

Addison looked down at her checkboard, before smiling, "Splendid. Mr. Dancer is expecting you." She said.

Mr. Dancer?

Now, who could that be?

They all soon followed her down the hall, and through a door, which led into a huge auditorium. There were workers and such, including someone Albert recognized very well. That person then smiled as he walked towards the group, "Well now. I've been expecting you." He said.

"Hey, hey, hey, Dimitri. Long-time, no see." Albert greeted.

Indeed it was the dancer from the dude's childhood days. He sure didn't change much, aside from being taller, and sporting a light mustache and beard. What hasn't changed, was his passion to dance, that's for sure.

Sondra beamed with excitement, "Mr. Dimitri!" She ran up to the man and gave him a hug.

"Hello there. How's my little bottle of sunshine?" Dimitri grinned as he hugged her back.

Harry was about to ask who this was until Theo answered for him, "Another friend of our dads. He's a ballerina and teaches classes that Sondra's in. Didn't think we'd see him here."

"So, what brings you all the way out here to NC?" Trina asked.

Dimitri chuckled, "Funny you should ask. I was only passing through to travel when the people here asked if I wanted to help be a choreographer for one of their productions. And, I couldn't simply pass upon it. I'm working on a new version of 'West Side Story', and we're opening tonight. Which is why..." He reached into his pocket, pulling out some tickets, "I got you cats front row tickets."

Everyone smiled. That sounded great.

"And that's not all." That's when another man stood beside Dimitri, who gave him a kiss, "I want you to meet my partner, Steven. We met last Christmas, and got eloped not too long ago."

"S'up." Steven greeted.

Albert chuckled, "Hey, hey, hey. That's okay. Congrats on that, man."

"Thanks, Fat Albert. And another fun part about 'West Side Story'... we're making it a younger version with kids..." Dimitri bent down to Sondra's level and playfully bopped her nose, making her giggle, "And I could use one more extra dancer."

The six-year-old beamed as she turned to her parents, "Can I, Momma? Can I, Daddy? Please?"

Albert and Trina looked at one another, before smiling at their daughter, "I don't see why not." Trina shrugged.

"You'd be perfect on stage, baby," Albert added.

Sondra squealed with excitement, "Yay!"

Rudy then whispered to Harold and Bill, "So not only do we see the sissy dancer here. He's helping with a kiddie play, and he's gay... Albert is sure making good of these surprises."

"At least Sondra's happy." Bill whispered back, "And if Dimitri's happy with his man, that's fine by me."

Harold frowned a little, "Even a gay man has better luck at finding his love than me..." He then shook his head, "I can't keep dwelling on the past... I really can't..." He sighed before turning to Harry, "Hey, buddy... I've got something to do... wanna go out in the town and look around?" He asked.

The teenager smiled a little, "I guess... can Theo, April, and Alya come?"

Rudy sure, "Of course... as long as you don't let anything happen to my baby girl."

"April can go with you," Donald added.

"Just be careful..." Albert said, "We're gonna help Dimitri with the play. Don't stay out too long."

With that, the four kids left the Performing Arts Center, and out onto the world of Durham, "I'm glad your Dad suggested that." Theo said to Harry, "I felt like we would have gotten bored in there."

Harry nodded, "Maybe... but honestly... I feel like he only did that so I wouldn't see him sad."

"What do you mean?" Alya asked.

The teen sighed, "Dad... is still really sad about my Mom... I mean, it's been years, but I still come across moments of him just being... sad... sometimes even crying. It's like no matter what goes on... Mom is always on his mind."

"Something tells me your Mom and Dad were really close before..." April trailed off.

"Yeah. He always tells me how amazing she was. How cool she was... how... sweet... she was..."

"Do you ever miss her?" Alya asked.

Harry took a moment to ponder that, "Honestly... I'm not sure how to answer that... I mean, how can you miss someone you never really met? Mom died when I was still a newborn. She died because of complications after I was born... and... well..."

Theo put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "You're not... blaming yourself for what happened, are you? You were only a baby, it wasn't your fault..."

"I know. And I'm not blaming myself. I just... I don't know. There's so much to process here. But I know one thing... Mom is always gonna be here..." He put a hand to his heart, "In my heart. And I know she's in Dad's heart too."

"That's right..." Alya added, "And... I think I get how you feel. My Daddy lost his Daddy before I was born, so I never got to meet my grandpa. And sometimes... Daddy is really sad about it. To the point where he'd drink to get rid of the pain... not that that's okay, though..."

"My mom had a little brother who was really sick and he... you know." April spoke, "He met me when I was a baby, but I sure don't remember him. But I know Mom truly loved him."

"I... can't say I relate. I don't really know anybody in my family that died who I didn't know..." Theo added, "I can see where you guys are getting at. And like Harry said, our loved ones are always in our hearts..."

Harry smiled, "Thanks, guys. I'm so glad I met you... aside from the basketball team at school, I didn't have a lot of friends."

"Well, now you do." Theo smiled back.

That accumulated in a group hug between the four friends, as they continued on their adventure through downtown. They saw many sights, such as the ballpark, the bus station, and even the Bull Statue. After all, Durham was the Bull City. At one point, Alya suggested they take a picture with the new phone her father got her for her birthday.

A few selfies were taken in front of the statue. Alya smiled as she looked at the pictures, one in particular... caught her eye and made her gasp, "Guys... look at this... behind us..."

Theo, Harry, and April looked at the phone, "What is it? I don't see anything but us." Theo said.

"Behind us... on the right..."

They all looked closer, and could soon see what Alya was looking at. Behind them... was a man in black. And he looked too... familiar. A chill crept up their spines as they slowly turned their heads to looked over their backs... nobody suspicious.

"Maybe it was just a random person..." April suggested, "Anybody can dress in black."

"True... but maybe we shouldn't take our chances... and head back to the center." Harry replied, "Just to be safe."

"I second that notion," Theo added.

"I third it," Alya added as well.

And so, they started to go back to the center... before realizing that they had no idea how to get back. They didn't know which direction the center was, "Okay... I think we're lost..." Theo concluded.

"Not to worry." Alya said, pulling out her phone again, "My phone has a map. It'll show us the way." She put in the directions to the center, and within seconds, it popped up, "I've got it. We gotta go left."

"Alright. Then let's go." Theo said.

With that, the quad started to head in that direction... before bumping into someone, knocking them to the ground. The kids groaned and looked up, before paling in horror at who they bumped into.

"Hello... fancy seeing you here in the Bull City," Reagan said with a smirk.

Alya would have screamed had April not covered her mouth when she drew in a breath. Harry shielded the girls away, as Theo scooted back slightly, "Hey... Reagan. Fancy seeing you outta jail.." He chuckled nervously.

The man chuckled, "Well, I certainly wasn't gonna stay in there long, not when there's revenge to be had."

"Why don't you leave us alone? Didn't we suffer enough last year?"

"In my opinion... no. You didn't. And I'll make sure you little brats suffer way worse this time."

Reagan then chuckled as he looked at Alya, "Starting with you, sweetheart. We have unfinished business from last year..."

The preteen gasped and cringed hard at what he was implying. Theo glared at the villain, "You better not put your hands on her. You need to leave her alone. She's already afraid of you..."

"Good. I want her to be afraid! I want all of you to be afraid! Because what I have planned this time... you all won't come out alive... or at least uninjured. So... I won't get you now... but you had better watch your backs... because I will get you soon..."

That seemed to be a cue, as the four kids got up and ran off. As for Reagan, he shook his head with a smile, "Those brats have no idea what'll hit them. They don't even realize that it's not them I'm after this time..."

Theo, Harry, April, and Alya ran as fast as they could, using the GPS on Alya's phone to get back to the Performing Arts Center. It took about five minutes, but they soon made it as they stopped to catch their breaths.

"That was a close one..." Theo panted.

"Too close... he could've grabbed us right then and there..." Harry added.

Alya put a hand to her heart, "I didn't want to believe it... but he truly did escape outta jail... we're in trouble again. What if he does get us?" She asked, "I can't handle the thought..."

April held her friend to calm her, "It'll be okay, girl. We won't let him touch you... but... should we tell our folks?"

"... Not this time." Theo replied, "Now that Reagan knows we're here, we don't want to lead him to everyone else. This is for their safety."

Harry agreed, "Yeah, they're already worried. No need to make them all overprotective. There's no telling what that dude will do to us now..."

"Hey, hey, hey!"

The kids knew that familiar call as they saw Albert walking towards them, "You made it back." He smiled, before seeing them pant, "Everything okay? You look like you just ran a marathon."

"Um... yeah, Dad. We wanted to make sure we got back here. Like you said, you didn't want us to stay out too long." Was Theo's best excuse.

"Well, that's fine. Since we'll all about to head out for dinner. Dimitri's treat."

Dinner sure sounded great. The place would be the food court of The Streets of Southpoint. Dimitri offered to pay for everyone's meals. As all the kids sat together to eat, the adults once again sat together to discuss recent events.

"So... I heard the awful man who kidnapped your kids escaped from prison..." Dimitri spoke up, "How are... the kids handling the news?"

Albert sighed, "They don't know about it... yet. We're keeping it secret as to not worry them. They all went through a lot last year."

"My little Alya especially..." Rudy added, "Bastard almost raped her. I swear if I see his ass again, I'll make sure his dick gets shot off."

"I understand your frustration, Rudy." Dimitri nodded, "I couldn't imagine my child being abducted and almost deflowered by a heartless villain. I wish that would never happen to my little girl."

"You have a daughter?" Harold asked.

The dancer grinned as he pulled out his phone, and showed everyone a picture of a young girl about the age of eight on his lock screen, "Her name is Cheyenne. I adopted her two years ago from Detriot while on vacation. She loves to dance, and we have such a close bond. She's also very close to Steven now that we're together."

The guys couldn't help but fawn over her adorableness, "She's home now, but you'll get a chance to meet her at the center for the play. I'm certain your kids will get along great with Cheyenne."

"I'm sure they will too," Albert replied.

"And are you certain keeping the criminal's escape a secret is the best route?" Dimitri asked, "It seems rather... pointless, as it's all over the news."

"It's for their sakes and mental health..." Bill spoke up, "The last thing we want, is for them to be scared while on this road trip. We hope to tell them at some point, but right now isn't the time..."

"If you say so..."

What the guys didn't know, was that the kids happened to hear their conversation. Theo frowned, "It really is for our own good..." He said, mostly to himself, "Well... we're keeping our knowledge of it a secret for their own good..."

"What do you think will happen when they know that we know that they know?" Sondra asked.

Theo looked at his sister, "I dunno... but... I promise that things'll be okay. One thing's for sure, I won't let that Reagan dude get us. Not this time."

''And how are you gonna make sure it doesn't happen?" Harry asked.

"... No idea. But I'll think of something... I hope..."

So we head to Durham. We reunite with Dimitri (from the episode 'The Dancer'), find out he's a choreographer, has an adopted daughter, and a husband. Harry has some thoughts about his Mom. The kids are confronted by Reagan, who gives them a warning. And that's that. Things will get more intense as the story goes on. Next chapter, we'll see the gang on their way to South Carolina, run into another old friend, and we'll see what happened from there. I hope you like this chapter. I'll see you guys later, and don't forget to review, please. Thank you!