Thank you to everyone who had reviewed so far! All your encouragement has been great, it's really helped me a lot! Note--I think that this chapter gets sappy at parts (just so you know) and if it is, please tell me and tell me how to fix it.
Chapter 10
Les groaned as the rolled over. He'd been sleeping peacefully--been having a nice dream, too. He heard shouting coming from the other room--it sounded like his parents and his brother. If Les was more awake, he would be perplexed. David hardly ever fought with their parents, not even when they'd sent their sons back to school. Les was awake enough to catch pieces of what they were saying.
"Your mother and I have made our decision!"
"It's not your decision to make! It's my life!"
"David, please, listen to your father and I. We only want what's best for you."
"Yeah? Well, the least you could have done was talked about it with me first. But you didn't even do that much."
"David--" Mayar (did I spell that right?) Jacobs was cut off as his eldest son stormed out of the room. Les quickly closed his eyes as David entered their room.
***
David lay down on his bunk, but he didn't fall asleep. Instead, he waited until he heard his parents go to bed, then he sat up, tip-toed over to the window, and slipped away into the night.
***
Becca tossed and turned. It was the middle of the night, and she still couldn't sleep. Her mind was whirling, still trying to process the day's events. So much had happened…and the most recent events weren't even the ones troubling her. Becca was ecstatic to have a grandfather, but even more overjoyed for Jack. Her brother had finally forgiven their father, but they weren't close. Becca wasn't sure if they ever would be. On the other hand, Jack was already opening up to Thomas, and they had only learned of his existence hours before. And Spot…when they arrived at Tibby's, Spot was back to his normal self, but someone who knew Spot well enough, his grandfather included, could detect a slight change. A somewhat happier…less-brooding air adorned the Brooklyn newsie leader.
No, it wasn't the sudden appearance of a grandfather and an old friend turning out to be a cousin that kept Becca awake. It was what had happened earlier that day. As if…as if they had missed, or denied something, or had skipped over, never gotten to something. Becca couldn't stand it any longer. She had to talk to Dave. Swiftly making up her mind, Becca climbed out of her room and onto the roof. Without a second though, she headed off to the Jacobs's building.
***
Dave paced outside the Lodging House, as he had been doing for hours now. He knew he was going to have to tell Becca sometime. Actually, he was going to have to tell everyone sometime, but he was most worried about Becca, how she would take it. His gut instinct was telling Dave that he shouldn't waste another minute, that he should tell her now, but it was the middle of the night.
Dave sat dejectedly on the front steps of the Lodging House. And it wasn't only what he had just found out that he needed to tell Becca. There were other things…some of which he had been aware of before but thought he would have time for later. Most of them, however, he hadn't been aware of till just now. How was he going to tell Becca? She needed to know, but the timing was awful. Suddenly, David heard a noise. He held in his breath, listening. It sounded like someone coming down the fire escape on the side of the building. Dave crept towards the noise, then spotted a familiar figure about to take off down the street.
"Becca!" he whispered loudly. She spun around, and looked for David, who stepped out from the shadows. Becca jogged over to him.
"What are you doing here?" they both said at once. "Coming to talk to you," they answered simultaneously. Becca laughed with Dave, glancing down at her feet then up again.
"I guess everyone's right when they say we think alike."
"Yeah," Dave agreed. "Whatever happened to the opposites-attract thing?" Becca shrugged.
"Don't know." The two stood for awhile, waiting for the other to say what they both knew the other had come to say. "So, um, you snuck out of your house to tell me something?" Becca asked.
"Yeah, I did," replied Dave. "But, I think, maybe you ought to go first."
"Okay," Becca took a deep breath. "I, um, just felt like, I don't know, we didn't…finish today." When she saw Dave's semi-confused look, she continued. "I mean, I feel like maybe we weren't completely honest with each other and ourselves, we made it too easy to solve, not because we want to lie to each other, but because…" Becca struggled to put her feelings into words.
"Because we're scared." Dave finished for her. "We're so scared of anything coming between us, anything ruining our friendship, the one that we so value. So we'd rather just leave things alone and not change anything. But in the end, wouldn't that hurt us more? Because things would always be strained, we'd never be able to be fully honest with each other and consequently ourselves. There's risks no matter what we do." Dave laughed at himself nervously. "Here I am, going on like I know anything about what I'm talking about." Becca chuckled,
"That's okay. I feel the same way."
"Do you?" Becca's heart began beating rapidly when Dave's eyes met hers. She knew he wasn't speaking in reference to not knowing what they were talking about. She tried to respond to him, but she couldn't speak.
***
Dave hesitated for a moment. She wasn't saying anything--what did that mean? He searched her eyes, and found the only answer he needed. Slowly, Dave leaned in closer.
***
Becca was rooted to her spot. Unable to speak, she communicated with Davey as their eyes locked. The next thing she knew, his lips her on hers, and not in a brush.
***
Dave could not believe it. He was kissing her, a real kiss. He'd wanted to for almost a year, although he wasn't aware of that till now. Suddenly, Dave felt a lump rise in his throat. He drew back, "I can't do this." Becca reeled back, but quickly steadied herself.
"Fine," she said, voice shaking. She felt no drop of anger, only hurt. "I understand." She reached out and took Davey's wrist, pulling him so that she could look into his eyes. "That's your right, and I don't want you to do something that you don't feel. But decide--are we friends, or are we going to see if we're more? I need to know that much, and I need to know it now." Dave put his hand on Becca's face, thumb resting on her cheek and fingers behind her ear.
"It's not that, not that at all."
"Then what?" Becca whispered.
"I need to tell you something."
"Tell me what?" Dave gulped,
"This is one of those moments where whoever's in my place usually says, 'I should have told you this long ago', but I only just found out myself." Dave paused, chewing his lip. There was no way to sugarcoat this.
"David, what is it?" Dave gazed at Becca. Her eyes…they twisted his heart muscles. Now he knew why Jack had been so torn up when he'd given up the chance to go find her. Those eyes…so warm, loving, and trusting. And hurt, and scared. Right now, so scared of what he was about to reveal. He could see she knew that this was not some little thing, and it wasn't good.
'Eyes really are the portal to the soul,' he thought.
"David," Becca pressed.
"Becca…I'm going to have to explain this, and it might not make sense or seem relevant at first, but it is, trust me." Becca nodded,
"Alright." She could see how much Dave was struggling with what he wanted to tell her. It softened her, and she found his hand and squeezed it. Dave looked up at Becca, pain in his eyes, never letting go of her hand.
"For the past couple months, my teacher's been going over my test scores, and sending them away to a bunch of different schools. Well, a boarding school outside of the city replied. For the past week or so, my parents have been discussing this with me teacher, and they didn't tell me about it until tonight, and…I'm leaving in a week." Becca gasped. Not a throaty gasp, but like someone had punched her in the stomach. She looked up to Dave, frantically searching his eyes for any indication that what she just heard wasn't true. She found none. Nothing but the pain that he now shared with her.
"How long?" she managed to squeak out.
"I don't know," Dave replied, sorrow thick in his voice. "I guess from when I leave until a break, probably around Thanksgiving. But then I'd go back after that, only returning around holidays. I don't like this any more than you do, and I don't understand why I'm leaving so early, September's a month and a half away. (note--there will be a reason for Dave's leaving early, it'll come into play in awhile, so for now just bear with me) I'm not happy about this at all, but there's nothing I can do." Dave's voice started to crack, and it was then that it really hit Becca--this was happening, and there was no way to stop it. Her vision blurred with the tears that poured down her face. David pulled her close and for awhile they stood there, saying nothing, both of their faces wet. Finally, Becca blew her nose with the handkerchief that Dave held out, then asked,
"What does this mean. In relation to…us?"
"I don't know," responded Dave softly. "I wish I could tell you, but I can't."
"What I know," Becca managed to say, "is that what we started earlier…I don't know now…I don't want my heart broken." Dave took Becca's hand and placed it on his chest, over his heart.
"Then know one thing. Whatever happens, no one can replace you here. Even if all we ever become is even better of best friends, you'll never be replaced. And right now, there's space here for you to be more, I want you to be more. That space may be there forever, may not, I wish I could say it will always be. But I don't know, because I don't know what's going to happen. But the part of me that loves you as my best friend--that will never go away, I promise you that." Becca tried to smile, and a small, half-hearted one, was all that came out.
"Thank you, but…not right now. I mean, I--I can't decide anything right now. I just need--need time. Not a lot of time, but time."
"Go, go ahead," Davey's voice was gentle. "Go back to bed, and sleep, then do whatever you want to do. I just need you to know how I feel. Becca nodded,
"Okay." Dave gave her a brief, tight hug, then watched her pull her leaden up the fire escape to her room. He stood there for a few moments after Becca disappeared from view. Slowly, with a heavy heart, he trudged away.
K, if the closure that you want is the type of closure that I'm thinking about, then it will happen before the end of this story. But, remember, (as Shakespeare so aptly put it through Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream") "The course of true love never did run smooth…"
If you thought this was overly sappy or not done well ( I don't know what I'm doing and I think it's sappy), please tell me, but then please tell me how to make it not-sappy because I won't know how to fix it and ergo it won't get fixed. So please review! (and be honest)