Chapter Three: The Newbie Heroine

It took about two days for us to reach the border. When we finally got there, we headed out for Alabama. The journey there was rough, but we made it through. After Alabama came Louisiana. There, we got to get away with subways and buses, much like we did with the Chatanooga Choo-Choo. And last but not least, we arrived at the Texas border line. I couldn't believe it. We were almost there! Soon, I would begin life anew.

Although we had almost reached our destination, I was rather disappointed. After all these days that I've been around them, I haven't gotten to talk to Keira or Jak once about each other! All of those times I'd been too busy sketching them. My notebook is now full of sketches and doodles. So much for being observant and taking notes. Anyway, now that we're on the border, we can focus on getting to Houston, and Michael. I'd told Keira about him, and no one else, especially not Daxter. We'd become good friends now. We talk to each other about our secrets and occasionally laugh at them. We'd tell about our feelings, about what makes us happy or sad. Right now, she truly felt like my sister, even though I didn't have any female cousins or ciblings. I was the only girl. Maybe that's why I act the same as Jak.

While we were on our trip I had some time to get over my depression. Since Jak had talked to me that day on the train, I felt like I would never go back and be happy about it. He and I also had some sort of bond. But this was no ordinary bond, this is one of those brother-and-sister-like bonds. I wish I had that bond with my brothers. Even though I was the oldest of all the family children, I was still treated like an inferior. Jak made me feel different, though. He treated me like we were the same age. When we were together, we were always causing trouble, but we had fun nonetheless.

When we were in Austin, Daxter seemed a lot quieter. One day, I got the nerve to ask him why. "Daxter, you've been acting weird lately, what's the matter?" He stared blankly. I finally got tired of waiting. "Is it you and Tess?" He waited a moment and nodded yes. Poor guy. Since I was a match maker, this was definetly a job for me. Without another word, I stood and headed Tess's way. She seemed pretty glum too. Her ears drooped, and that wasn't normal for someone of her personality. I sat down beside her and began to lie. "Hey, Tess!" She looked up at me and gave me a half smile, then continued to wander into space. "Ya' know," I began. "Daxter has some pretty good things to say about you. Like when we were in Chatanooga, he tried to compare all the girls to you. He only said that they were babes to make you jealous, all a part of his plan. What he really said was things like, 'Aw, Tess is WAY cuter than that,' or, 'God, I wish Tess could see this.' Why, he even said..." I stopped and got her attention. She seemed really curious now. "What?" she said, wondering what else Daxter said about her. I closed my eyes and ranted. "Nah, I probably shouldn't. He didn't want me to tell you because he thought that you wouldn't feel the same way." I opened one eye. She looked as if she were about to kill me. "Tell me!" I flinched at her high pitched voice. "Well, since you asked. He said he loved you." Tess looked as though she were in shock. "Wh-wha?" Her voice seemed happy and disbelieving. It's working! "Yep! He said that he's head over heels for ya'!" She jumped down from the stone we were sitting on and walked up to Daxter. "Hey, Schnookums," she mused. He looked confused, but Tess obviously didn't notice. "I love you too." He sat in confusion at first, but then loosened up and grabbed her. She was spun around and held in his arms before she could say anything. Then finally, he bent down and kissed her. It was quite romantic, considering who it was between. Now if Jak and Keira were only that stupid...

The next day I decided to talk to Keira wheter she was busy or not. Then, once she was ready to tell him how she feels, I would find Jak and see how he's doing. Oh yeah, this is gonna' be great! I found Keira writing in her notebook again. She's been doing this a lot lately. But it didn't matter. I sat down beside her and peeked at her notebook. She quickly closed it and scolded me. I felt guilty, but right now I was on a mission. "Hey, Keira," I said sweetly, trying not to sound suspicious. "I was wondering, how long have you known Jak?" She seemed surprized at first, but she answered my question anyway. "Well, we met a while back in Sandover Village at Sentinal Beach. Someone who lived in our village was throwing a party and Jak and I happened to get invited. I was playing volleyball with some other friends, and I lost the ball. It rolled over to where Jak was sitting, alone. When I went to pick it up, he'd gotten up and reached for it. Both of our hands were laid on it at the same time. Oh, it was so romantic!" She had a dreamy look in her eyes. I could tell that she still loved him, I'll bet everyone could. Now to ease further into the conversation. "Did you hear that Ashlynn... Um." She could tell what I was about to say, and the dreamy look went away. "Yes," she said glumly. Her heart was broken, and it was time for me to fix it. "Ya' know, I saw the whole thing. Ashlynn kissed Jak. He didn't look like he kissed her or nothin'. She just walked up and kissed him. Trust me, it didn't mean anything." A little spark of hope lit up in her eyes. "Really?" I nodded. "Really." She hugged and thanked me and walked off. Jak, you're next...

Being the smart cookie that I was, I knew that Jak was not an easy target. I'd have to open up nice and slowly. I found him sitting up in a tree, staring at the stars. He seemed to be in deep thought. "Hey!" I yelled, almost making him fall out of the tree. "What's the matter with you?" I rolled my eyes and climbed up. He didn't look like he felt much like talking, but that's just Jak for you. "So," he said. "What did you want?" I waited for a moment, trying to figuire out how to start the converstation. "Well-" Just then, Daxter came running up. Why am I not surprized. "Hey, you two!" We've gotta' get goin'! We should be there by tomorrow night if we leave now!" We forgot all about our talk and jumped down from the tree. Torn came running up from behind holding my leaper-lizard. He tossed me the reins while Jak left to find his. Just you wait, Jak. Just you wait...

The sun started to peek through the trees just as we left. I'd never been to Texas before, but it seemed like home for some odd reason. The trees and grass seemed familiar, but the situation was different. Keira and I were riding side by side, and Jak was up front. Ashlynn was a safe distance away from him. She was beside Torn at about the middle. Since Daxter and Tess made up, they wouldn't leave each other's sight. They were walking up front next to Jak and Samos. They're such a cute couple! I didn't get a perfect glimpse, but I could tell that they were holding hands. Keira and Jak would look cute like that. After our talk in Houston, Keira had been opening up more. She actually talked about him now and wasn't sad when I brought up the subject of the two kissing anymore. It's a start.

Finally came the moment I'd been waiting for: Houston city limits. Since our letters looked different from their's, I did all the sign reading. As we passed the sign, Keira noticed my sudden burst of happiness. She smiled and began to taunt me again. "We're getting closer to your boyfriend! So tell me, is he cute?" I knew that she was teasing me, but I answered her question anyway. "To me he is! He has that perfect shade of red hair, he's about the same size as me, and he loves to play you guy's videogame. Here, see for yourself!" The leaper stopped as I pulled back on thereins. I opened the pack that was strapped to its side and pulled out Michaels picture. Keira looked it over and nodded in approval. "Nice! You two would make a great couple!" Suddenly, I wasn't so happy anymore. "That's the problem. We can't be. You see, his dad's in the military, so they had to move to Texas three years ago when we were in the sixth grade. He called me a week ago and told me that he would have to live there for eight more years!" We stopped again and I showed her the necklace that was tucked under my shirt. Then she put her hand on my shoulder. "It's okay! Maybe we can take him with us!" My heart lit up again. "Really! Oh my God, Keira! You're so cool! Thanks!" I hugged her and she hugged me back. "I'll ask Jak tonight! Don't worry, Jordan. You're boyfriend is as good as yours!"

Finally, Keira was going to talk to Jak, but for the wrong relationship. They were the perfect couple, and Jak couldn't see that. Don't worry, Jak. I'll open your eyes. I'd waited far too long. But there was still many chances for me. Like if we make it to Haven City. I would obviously be there awhile. Maybe I will be there forever... My heartache was gone, and now I was moving on.

The next day, the deal was settled. We could bring Michael as long as he could keep things on the low. I was supposed to head out into town again, but this time, I would come back with more than just food. Again, Daxter wanted to tag along. It wasn't like I had a problem with it, but I wasn't all for it either. You see, Texans eat things like Daxter, all the time. I didn't tell him that as not to scare him, but he would eventually figuire it out. We waved good-bye and set out for Houston.

My excitement was uncontrollable. Not only was I going to Haven City, but I was also going with one of my best friends! Or are we more... No! We're just friends. What if Keira was right? Are we the perfect couple? We walked down the streets with a leash in my hand and a rat on my shoulder. Sure we looked odd, but didn't Jak and Daxter when they ran through the streets of Haven? Nobody we saw cared anyway. I was worried at first that people would recognize Daxter. But no one tried to grab him and say, "Here's that rat from the Jak and Daxter series! Can I have your autograph!" I'm sure Daxter would've loved it, but for right now it was best to remain unseen.

I followed the directions that a nearby officer had given me. After all, this was the first time I'd been to Texas. We rounded a corner and his house came into plain view. My heart leaped again. The fuzzie things that get in your stomach when you're nervous started swirling around. We approached the door. "Daxter," I said. "Go wait over by that tree. Try not to cause any trouble, okay?" He nodded, but there was a frisky look in his eyes. I turned around to the door again and knocked. This is it! A few seconds passed before a tall woman stood before me. She looked me over and pulled out her purse. "Oh no, I'm not a Girlscout!" I laughed. "You probably don't remember me. I'm Jordan." The woman smiled and put away her purse. "Why, I do remember you! There wasn't a day that Michael didn't talk about ya', darling! Come in!" Before I stepped inside, I stole a quick glance at the tree behind me. Daxter stood with two thumbs up, grinning wickedly. I rolled my eyes and entered the house.

"Michael's in his room." She pointed down a long hallway. "It's all the way down and to your left." I nodded and made my way down. Yep, this is his room. The door was covered in dragons and video game posters from when he lived in Tennessee. I knocked on the door and waited. Music was blaring inside, and I was sure he couldn't hear me. As soon as I brought my hand down again, Michael opened the door. My hand hit against his head. He put his hand on his forehead and moaned. Way to go, Jordan. Even though I could tell that I hurt him, I cupped my hand over my mouth and tried not to laugh. When he came back into focus, he stared at me for a long time before recognizing me. "Jordan?" I nodded. He smiled and took his palm away from his head. "I thought I'd never see you again!" It was like my body had a mind of its own, because I leaned over and hugged him. Uh oh. Surprizingly, he hugged me back. I have the strangest feeling that I'm forgetting something... "Come on!" He motioned for me to follow him to the back porch. We sat down at a beautiful patio table. His mom served drinks as we laughed about the past. "I remember how short you used to be!" I joked, for he looked like he'd grown a mile. He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Yeah, we were the average nerds. Say, how'd you get here anyway." Flashbacks of our travels came back to me. "Michael, I have to ask you something really, really important." He sat up again, making sure he didn't miss a word of valuable information. I took a deep breath and got up from the table. "Be right back."

I came back a few minutes later with Daxter in my arms. He was struggling to get loose, but I had to show Michael. It put Daxter in front of him on the table. When I looked up, his eyes were as big as golf balls and his chin looked like it would touch the ground if he opened his mouth any further. "Mike, this is Daxter. You probably know him already." Daxter held out his paw. Michael acted like a ghost. "I c-can't believe it! They're real!" Daxter jumped into his lap and got up in his face. "What's there not to believe?" Michael stood and looked at me. I sighed. "This may be a hard pill to swallow, but I came here from Tennessee with the help of Jak and his pals. They said that the portal to Haven was here in Houston. Michael, come with me. We can actually kick Metal Head ass in person! Will you?" He seemed to be in deep thought. I was scared that he would say no. He held out his hand to Daxter, who still had his paw extended. "When do we leave?" he said in that sweet, cheery voice that I knew and loved. My heart did back flips. "Right now!" I said, getting up from my chair. "You'll have to be quiet though. You can't tell anybody." Mike nodded and went back inside. He returned with a small bag full of clothes and other needs. Without another word, we climbed over the porch railing and ran towards the woods...