Title: Cuts Like A Knife

Author: Stress

First written: May 12, 2002

Edited and replaced: January 21, 2005

Summary: Part I of the Soul Mates Series; She thought that life couldn't get any better. She had friends and a family that loved her – she was taken care of and had no complaints. But that was before he came into her life. And, no matter how hard she tries to escape his grasp, he'll never let her go.

The Next Morning

"Blink! King! Fellas! Ya gotta get up! The ink is wet, the presses are rolling!" Kloppman called as he made his daily rounds of waking the sleepy newsies up to go the distribution center. "Sell a paper! Sell a pape! Morning dear, Stress is it now? Sleep well Cowboy?" he added with a wink as he saw that Jack had spent the night, not on the floor, but in the bunk.

Stress turned over and covered her head with the pillow. "I don't want to sell papes today," she complained, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Jack sat up and started to tickle Stress until she gave up and rose from the bunk. "Nuh-uh, Stressie. You're gonna sell with me today and that's that."

She groaned, but reluctantly arose from the bunk. Picking up her suitcase and heading to one of the toilets, Stress turned around and gave Jack a playful shove. "Ya know, I don't think so, Jacky-Boy." she cooed before she walked off, leaving Jack to be teased by his fellow newsies.

King started in on him first as he jumped from his top bunk to land by the side of Jack's lower one. "Nice going Cowboy. You've known her one day and you already got her in bed with you. I wish I was the one that found that girl yesterday."

"It ain't like that King, so just stop it. She felt bad and let me share the bunk with her, but don't get no ideas. I was a perfect gentleman."

"Sureowboy, sure." Mush said as he clapped him in the shoulder.

"Do you really think that we're that stupid, Jacky?" Race said as he slyly jabbed Jack in the side.

"I don't know about him, but I think you're that stupid if you think that Jack got anything you don't got, except for manners of course," Stress said as she exited the bathroom, wearing her navy blue skirt with a white blouse. She left her hair down, but had washed her face. The black eye was subsiding and the swelling of her right cheek had gone down considerably. And know that she had calmed down a bit from the day before, the newsies could see what a difference her smile made to alter her appearance in a more positive light. And right then she was smiling mischievously.

Approaching the crowd of boys around Jack, ignoring the whistles the other newsies gave her, Stress shot them all an innocent smile. "Now, before you all started attacking Jack here with questions about last night, I believe I was looking for a selling partner for today."

She giggled as the boys all started clamoring for her attention. Only two boys, Jack and King, had backed off. King pulled on his shirt and pants, slipped on his suspenders and left the bunkroom, all the while shaking his head. "It's amazing how one girl can make so many of me boys lose their mind."

Jack pulled on his vest and let his red bandana hang around his neck. "Maybe I should have been a li'l nicer to her and she would have sold with me. I thought we could have been friends. Ah, hell..." he muttered as he started to follow King down the lodging house stairs.

Stress stopped smiling when she saw Jack edge towards the bunkroom door. Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she made her way through the crowd and stopped him at the door. "You don't wanna sell with me, Cowboy?" she pouted with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"You're gonna drive me crazy, girly," he announced with a laugh as he patted her head, running his fingers through her curls.

"I know." she said as she bounded down the stairs leaving Jack behind. "It sure is great having a boy who can be your friend and you don't got to worry about him taking part of you that you don't want to give," she told herself as she waited for Jack to take her to the distribution center. She was lonely without her friends, but Jack and his pals were doing all they could to make her feel at home. And she was glad.