AN: Once again, sorry about the lack of updates. I guess everyone has their bad times, and these are my bad times right now. Ugh.
Sorry about the mess-up. I WILL be using Flare's CC character in this chapter. I promise.
Blink
We didn't waste any time after that. Jack threw some clothes in a bag, grabbed his money, and we snuck out the back door. He had a blue car behind the house- and unlike everyone else, he didn't use it that often. I guess it didn't surprise me that he would retain something from his newsie life- walking everywhere.
"The love of your life, huh?" He asked as we pulled out of the driveway. "Who is she?"
I practically choked when he asked that. What if being gay was punishable by death in this time or something? Maybe it was illegal…was it safe to tell him?
"Are you okay?" Jack asked, glancing at me but mainly keeping his eyes on the road.
"I'm fine."
"Are you gonna tell me who she is?"
"Um…no. Not until you remember hi…her yourself."
"And just how am I supposed to remember?"
I started to speak but wasn't quite sure what to say. I had no idea how he was supposed to remember all this. No idea at all.
"It's a long way to San Francisco, you know."
"Yeah…I know."
"You must really love this girl."
I sighed heavily. Did he have to linger on the subject? "Yeah. I do."
We traveled in silence for a while, until he spoke up again. "So, what's our game plan once we're in Cleveland?"
"Well…we find David first, and then-"
Quite suddenly the car swerved across the center line and I grabbed onto anything I could as the car skidded, and Jack slammed his foot down on the brake. The car began to spun and I was screaming like a girl the whole time, unaware that this thing could actually crash. Finally we came to a stop, and I gasped for breath, waiting for it to start moving again or something.
"Blink! Are you okay?" Jack asked frantically, and I nodded. He ran a hand through his hair, and then he said, "David…David Jacobs?"
I swear, my heart stopped.
I looked up at him, and we really, truly connected for the first time, my eyes not meeting those of Andrew Kelly from Philadelphia, but those of Jack Kelly, a Manhattan newsie. We sat frozen for a moment, and then we both snapped off our seatbelts at the same time and tackled each other in a hug.
"I can't believe dis! I just can't believe it!" He was saying over and over. Then, the sound of a car horn honking alerted us to the fact that we were still sitting in the middle of a country road. Luckily for us, no one had been coming when he'd had his sudden memory recovery.
Jack slammed the car back into drive and I took a deep breath and snapped on my seatbelt as he pulled back into the correct lane and built up speed again.
"Blink, what in da hell happened?!" Jack asked, his old New York accent completely restored.
"It was Pulitzer. Somehow, he sent us forward in time. But my memory didn't get erased, like the rest of you guys."
"You mean…there's more of us?"
"Including you and me…fourteen."
Jack's jaw clenched and he gripped the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were white. "What can I do ta help?"
"Well…as soon as we find David and convince him, I have ta send you two back."
"I can't stay and help you?"
"Nope…don't think so."
We talked about the situation for quite a while, until he finally asked the question I wasn't quite sure I wanted him to ask.
"So…da love of your life? In San Francisco?" he said, raising his eyebrows a little. I blushed madly and found something very interesting on the floor to look at, and he laughed. "You and Mush finally figured things out?"
"How'd you know?"
"Everyone knew except for you. I mean, you're the same as Snitch and Skittery."
"Snitch and Skittery are together?!"
"What are ya, blind? They're so head over heels for each other it ain't even funny."
"But…they don't…"
"I didn't say they knew yet. They're as bad as you and Mush are."
"…Are we there yet?"
"A few more hours."
"I have ta spend a few more hours in a car? With you?"
"Yep."
About a half hour later, I was asleep. I don't know how I managed to fall asleep while the car was moving, but after a while the steady hum of the engines seemed to be a sort of relaxer. I was only awakened when Jack started yelling.
"Get up, ya bum! We got papes ta sell!"
"No we don't. Leave me alone." I muttered after remembering where I was.
"Well, maybe not…but we's ten minutes from Cleveland."
I opened my eyes to find that the world around us was dark, but moving lights were everywhere. They blinded me as they flew past, and I rubbed my eye.
"We can't go looking for him tonight." Jack added.
"Why not?"
"Because it's considered rude, Blink."
"Since when did you care about bein' polite?"
"Blink…"
"We can't waste any time. I have one month, Jack."
"But we can't make bad impressions, either. Remember what we're doing here…we're walking up ta people and tellin' them ta throw their lives away and go back in time. Do you think dey want us showing up at their door at one in da morning?"
"…I guess you're right."
"I'm always right."
"Sure."
And so we stopped for the night at a small inn (whatever Jack could afford with his limited cash), where Jack showed me the miracle of showers that were actually hot, coffee machines, microwaves…and the best of God's miracles…room service.
I mean, come on. People in this time thought that this stuff was a required amenity, but I felt like a king. I mean, this guy brought me food in my room.
If I weren't hell-bent on getting to Mush, I might've lived in that inn my whole life.
That was all I thought about that night. As Jack fitfully slept in the other bed I sat up in the pitch dark and bit back tears, realizing just how hopeless this was. I tilted my watch toward the ray of light coming through the cracked-open bathroom door, finally letting a few tears fall. 26 days, 22 hours, 47 minutes and 12 seconds. This was not possible. I'd never make it. The strike was going to fail, and I would probably die before I found him.
People say that it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
They're all fucking liars.
I woke up the next morning to bright sunlight filtering through the window, and I bolted upright and looked at the clock on the wall.
9 o'clock. I'd slept in. In all the days of my life, I'd chosen one of the most vital to oversleep on.
I threw back the covers and leaped out of bed, only succeeding in getting my legs tangled in the covers and falling flat on my face. The next thing I knew, Jack was at my side, pulling me up to my feet.
"Why didn't ya wake me up?!" I demanded, ripping my arm away from him.
"Chill. I've already found someone who can help us. Hurry up and get dressed."
"But-"
"Get dressed. Now."
I threw on some clothes as quickly as possible, and then I walked out into the lobby, where Jack was standing talking with another person. And when I got a clear look at this person, I just about dropped dead.
The guy's hair was bright pink, and he was very tall, probably even taller than Skittery…and that's saying a whole lot. His pants were lime green and skintight, and he was wearing a skintight black shirt.
And this guy…was wearing makeup. No kidding.
Needless to say, I was completely speechless as he turned and held out his hand for a handshake.
"Blink…this is Spike. He knows David…well, Darren…from school."
I couldn't find the energy to raise my hand. I was busy trying to pick my jaw up off the floor. 'Spike' let his hand drop, and then he began circling me like a hungry wolf, inspecting me carefully.
"You know, you have a really cute ass. You really need to wear something that shows it off a little more. Something…tighter." He said, and then he proceeded to slap me on the ass. I jumped about three feet in the air, spinning around so Jack could protect me from behind.
"Umm…no thanks…I'll pass." I stuttered, my good eye now partially blinded from all the neon colors.
Spike shrugged. "Suit yourself. So..let's go find Darren."
He began walking quickly, and I practically had to jog to keep up with his long strides. I stayed close to Jack, but he seemed completely comfortable around this…um…creature.
I guess this answered my question about the acceptance of gays in the future. If only Mush and I could stay here.
He drove one of the smallest cars I'd ever seen- a tiny blue thing that Jack described as a Volkswagon Beetle. And after driving for only a few minutes, we came upon another school.
"We aren't gonna pull him out of class, are we?" Jack asked, and Spike laughed.
"We won't have to. He has study hall this hour. Follow me."
We followed him into the school, through a few hallways, and finally to a stairwell. And behind the stairway, we found our sweet and innocent David Jacobs getting hot and heavy with a bombshell blonde.
He was startled by our sudden appearance, and promising the blonde another 'time slot' later, he sent her away. He then turned to us, wiping the lipstick off his face and straightening his shirt.
"What do you fuckers want? I was busy here!!"
Wow. Of all things, that was the last thing I expected to hear come out of David Jacob's mouth. And as we stood shocked, he looked at Jack a little harder.
"Do I know you from somewhere?"
"Um…well, no….I mean, you did, but not…I mean…"
I would've been quite amused by Jack's meaningless stuttering had the situation been any different. But now I had to take over while Jack gathered his wits.
"Is there a place we can talk to you? In private?"
David threw his hands into the air. "Look, man, if I screwed your girl, it was strictly sex. Nothing more. I try to explain that to 'em before I bang 'em, but sometimes those broads just don't get it."
For the third time that day, I felt like dropping dead.
"David, we just need to-" Jack started.
"David? My name isn't David, buddy."
"I mean…..Darren…"
I was sick of this charade. I grabbed David by the arm and started dragging him away, only stopping when he started clawing at my arm.
"Hey man! Stop! What are you, crazy?" he exclaimed, rubbing his arm.
"Yes. I'm absolutely insane. And you're coming with us."
"I don't think so!"
"I know so. I'll tie you up and drag you if I have to."
David swallowed hard as Spike and Jack and I led him out, and this was where I became truly disgusted with him.
"Come on..this isn't funny…just let me go home, I'll never cause you guys trouble again…look, whatever I did, I'm sorry!" he pleaded as we took him out to the car. And the whole time we were driving to the hotel- a good place to chat- he was whining and sniveling.
One thought was plaguing my head the whole way there: This may be a little harder than I thought.
AN: Yay! Next chapter, we see if David is receptive at all to this absurd notion that he was a newsie. Thanks again to Flare for the most certainly eccentric CC character! I hope I wrote him how you'd hoped…and I think he may be in the next chapter as well. ^__^