Passage From Pennsylvania Chapter 8: The Song, a liberty's kids fanfic

Okay, several things about the last chapter...

Firstly, when James says that he got Sybil, he means that he, you know, went out with her, "got the girl" and all that. So he didn't sleep with her. I mean, it was the 1700s... Except they broke up because he realized, hello, that he was in love with Sarah...

Oh, and about the screw thing, I have this REALLY awesome slang dictionary and it said that screw was used back then in the context it was used in in the chapter, but it was fairly close to the year the story takes place in, but anyways, screw refers to a person, like... Is she a good screw, you know? It's an adjective or a noun, instead of a verb. Anyways, I have lost my point right now...

And about Sarah being mean to James... For one thing, she's not very comfortable around him and she's around him a lot now, so she's kind of AHH, you know... She's panicky and everything, and she is around him practically every moment of the day. So she kind of lashes out.

And in the last chapter, she wasn't really focusing on the fact that James was taking care of her, she was just so outraged that he was using violence on the man because Sarah is SO opposed to violence in general. And aside from that, she tries to avoid thinking about James caring about her whatsoever because it really brings up bad memories...

I don't own Liberty's Kids, Atlantic City, or the song Crazy for This Girl. I don't even know if Atlantic City even remotely existed back then, and Crazy for This Girl belongs to the wonderful Evan and Jaron...

On with the show!

Oh, and the Mystery Guest speaks in dialect punctuated by foreign words, so yeah...

By now, we were deep into Jersey. It had been a very long and very quiet ride to the new town. We were approaching some town that sounded glittery. Atlantic City, perhaps? I did not know and didn't really care.

We stopped at the first inn we saw, which was well lit and large. It appeared to be a dance hall or something of the sort, judging by the loud music. But, being the nice person that I am, managed to procure us a room (with two beds), and, after placing our things inside it, against my better judgment, we went down to the hall.

It was an amazing room. It was lit by dozens of crystal chandeliers, and the furniture was nice and expensive looking. But, best of all, there was a HUGE buffet table. Naturally, I raced over to it, as I hadn't eaten a thing all day. As I was stuffing my face, I glanced over at one of the musicians, who looked very familiar.

Finally, when I was full, I surveyed my surroundings. Sarah was wearing a blue dress that I had never before seen her wear, which was rather low-cut, and, ahem, form-fitting. I liked this dress very much. But then my eyes turned to the familiar musician. Could it be?

He reminded me of Gunther. You know, the Brunswicker I was tied to for like two weeks or a month, or something.

The man looked at me, and stopped playing, handing the instrument to another musician, and began walking towards me. He looked a lot like Gunther, only happier and less gaunt.

"Gunther?" I asked, curious.

He smiled at me, turning to pick up some food.

"James, hello! I just wanted to say danke for helping me, James. It is t'anks to you t'at I have t'is job as a musician," He said cheerfully.

I smiled at him, waving it off.

"It's no big deal, Gunther. I mean, I was chained to you, some of my beliefs had to rub off on yours. It was the least I could do after you saved me from the Redcoats," I remarked calmly.

Gunther smiled widely at me.

"James, I t'ink I have somet'ing t'at could interest you. I have been working on t'is song for you, und I hope you will like it," He replied, smiling and polishing off the food, going back up to the stage.

I could only wait and wonder what my old friend had in store for me. The cords of this song died out, and a breathless Sarah sashayed over to me. She grinned happily at me, and I tried to smile back, but it was hard. Too hard.

She puts the window down
And she
Talks over the sound
Of the people that pass us by
And I don't know why
But she's changed my mind

As the song began, I think I started to understand what Gunther meant. I peered nervously over at Sarah, who looked back at me curiously. But then something seemed to come over her and she moved closer to me.

I shivered involuntarily at the closeness. But she merely smiled at me, grabbing at my hand.

"Come on, James. You do know how to dance, don't you?" Sarah laughed.

I was mesmerized by her and so I couldn't even speak. She tugged me out onto the floor and we started dancing, except I had no idea what I was doing.

Would you look at her
She looks at me
She's got me thinking about her constantly
But she don't know how I feel
And as she carries on without a doubt
I wonder if she's figured out
I'm crazy for this girl
I'm crazy for this girl

But I must've been doing something right, because she isn't running away screaming. That's an improvement, I think.

And I'm not stepping on her feet. Wow. I'm so surprised.

She was the one to hold me
The night
The sky fell down
And what was I thinking when
The world didn't end
Why didn't I know what I know now

Gunther's pretty good. I'm impressed. And the irony's just killing me. How could Gunther have known? Can he read my mind?

Hmm.

"I like this song, James. What is it called?" Sarah asked, amused.

I shrug, continuing with the dancing.

"I don't know."

Right now
Face to face
All my fears
Pushed aside
And right now
I'm ready to spend the rest of my life
With you

How I wish the words of this song could reflect reality instead of a dream world.

Oh well.

Sarah nods distractedly, and I find myself leaning into her, slowly moving closer and closer and closer. I'm intoxicated by her.

A slow smile spreads across my face deliberately, and Sarah and I lock eyes.

Would you look at her
She looks at me
She's got me thinking about her constantly
But she don't know how I feel
And as she carries on without a doubt
I wonder if she's figured out
I'm crazy for this girl
I'm crazy for this girl

She's looking at me, and smiling a little, a bit of a blush on her cheeks, and her eyes are dancing with joy. They're so beautiful, just like her.

How deep have I fallen? Have I reached the bottom of this pool of love yet? Or is there even a bottom?

We're just barely swaying to the beat, the distance between us narrowing slowly.

I can feel her breath hot on my face, and her lips have almost reached mine.

The chords of the song fade out and suddenly, it's as if her and I are the only people in the entire world. Every fiber of my being is focused on this moment and I can see and hear only her.

But as the song dies out completely, something comes over her and she stares at me in a way, a terrible way that'll stick with me forever, and runs away.

Déjà vu. Oh, man, I have to get out of this place. I ought to leave or something. I just can't do this any longer, can I?

I stumble out of the hall, racing towards the room. Hurriedly I scrawl a note, and take about a dollar. This ought to do. Then I dash out and away from this place, this horrible Atlantic city, and begin the long walk back to Pennsylvania.

- Loren ;

Thanks for all the reviews! Ya'll rock! Really! Seriously, love you guys.

And another thing... This fic is S/J. Kind of. I mean, who are they gonna hook up with? winks innocently I mean, it's not like there's any more suitors for Sarah, and Sybil's totally out of the picture, right? smirks

Right?

Lol... Okay, sorry, I know kinda how it's gonna end, even though I haven't finished like any of it. I mean, they haven't even gotten to NYC yet. I dunno, I warn you, I don't like resolving things. It's really weird, but I feel weird when I try. I guess I just like leaving the door half-open and half-closed simultaneously. I'm weird like that. So that way it could stand on it's own or have a sequel, you know?

Anyways, have a nice night.