Title: One Year Anniversary
Author: Stress
First written: April 18, 2002-May 12, 2002
Edited and replaced: August 9, 2005
Summary: Part III of the Soul Mates Series; When Jack and Stress reach their first year anniversary, Stress tells a friend the story about how they almost didn't get together at all.
The Secret Spot
"One more block and a turn down that alley and I'm there," Stress said, relieved that the back entrance to the secret spot was still open. She couldn't wait to sit and think about everything that was happening. According to Bookie and Mushie, Jack was in love with Sarah yet Martini and Stripes said that he was only using her as a distraction. And, as much as it pained her to admit it, she was just using David as a distraction to mask her feelings for Jack. Though she did like David, she was fooling herself if she thought she would ever be able to love him as more than a friend. "Tis a shame too, he sure is a great kisser," she giggled to herself as she approached the secret spot.
"Who's there?" called a masculine voice.
Stress's stomach sank. There was someone in the secret spot. But the only person who knew about the secret spot, besides her, was--
"Oh, hullo Cowboy." she said as she slumped against the brick wall of the back alley. "Of all the luck. Of course the one person I don't wanna see is gonna be here," she thought to herself.
Jack, who had been doing some serious thinking in the secret spot himself, stood up and walked over to Stress. Without saying a word he sank down right next to her.
"So we're finally gonna get a chance to talk, eh Stressie?" he said using his childhood pet name for her.
In spite of herself, Stress smiled. "Ya haven't called me that in two years, ever since ya decided ya were too grown up."
"I was just a kid then. Heck, I'm still just a kid..." he said, his voice trailing off. He was only seventeen yet at that moment he felt like he was seventy.
They sat there in silence, not sure what to say. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement not to mention neither David nor Sarah. After hearing their friends give conflicting stories about their relationships, neither one was sure what to think. Of course they weren't smart enough to actually talk to each other about their feelings.
The two of them were sitting so close to one another that they could feel the sparks flying between them. Stress wanted more than anything to reach out and just touch him and assure him that everything was going to be okay. She looked at him and sighed. He looked just as confused as she felt. When did their friendship turn into this?
Jack sat there, next to Stress, and tried to get his thoughts into order. "I should just tell her how I feel and if she wants Dave she can have him." He looked at her beautiful face with her lovely green eyes and full, pouting lips framed by a mass of curls. He knew he never would be able to tell her how he felt if there was any chance of rejection; he wouldn't be able to handle it. He thought again of her full, pouting lips and smiled. He would let his actions speak for him.
Turning quickly so to catch her off guard, Jack cupped her face into his hands and began to kiss her, gently at first but then more hungrily.
Stress struggled at first, mainly because of her surprise at Jack's sudden move. After a few seconds she gave in and melted into his arms, giving herself to him.
Once Stress relaxed and began to kiss him back, Jack moved his hands off her face, instead wrapping his arms around her torso, pulling her close to him.
The kiss seemed to last an eternity for both of it's occupants. When it ended, Stress fell against Jack and leaned her head against his chest, savoring the moment of their first kiss. "Oh, Jack..." she murmured.
As he felt the weight of her head nuzzling up against his chest, Jack smiled for the first time since Bookie had told him that Stress was back in town. "No more Cowboy!" he thought as happiness swelled up inside him. There was no way to fake the kind of emotion that was behind their kiss. Jack sat there, stroking her hair and relishing the moment. Not stopping to think about what he was going to say, he whispered his only thought into her ear: "Does Dave kiss ya like that?"
Jack knew he had said the wrong thing at once. He felt Stress's body tighten up and, as she realized what exactly had just happened, she leapt up and tore out of the alley, leaving Jack alone. He started to get up to chase after her, but after three steps he thought better of it and sat right back down. He had just had the perfect opportunity to tell her exactly how he felt and he had blown it. Yet he knew now that what Spot and Blink and all the others had told him was true-- she did feel the same way about him that he felt about her. The way she kissed him had told him that. As he smacked himself on the forehead for the stupid question he had asked he could only hope that he hadn't lost her forever.
Running to the Bottle Alley Lodging House
Run. The only thought that was in Stress's mind was to run. She had to get out of Jack's arms, out of that alley, out of Manhattan. She didn't know where to go; with the O'Connor's dead and Grace here in Manhattan, she had nowhere else to go but back to the Bottle Alley Lodging House. So that's where she went.
She stopped outside of the entrance to the lodging house to catch her breath and gather her thoughts. "O.K., what just happened? One second I was just sitting there talking to Jack and the next second I'm kissing him." She had to work hard to suppress the small bubble of joy that rose up inside her. Jack kissed her. Not just a baby-kiss-on-the-cheek but a real kiss. She flushed at the memory. His warm mouth on hers, their bodies pressed together, his hands gently cupping her face. His hands gently cupping her face in an exact imitation of David's gesture from only hours before. David. He could never find out what had happened between Stress and Jack. She would make sure of that.
Once she was sure that she was calm enough to go in, she entered the door and saw Mrs. Cook, the owner of the lodging house, sitting at her desk. After tossing her a nickel for the night's lodging fee she turned to Mrs. Cook and asked "Has any of the other girls checked in for the night?" crossing her fingers that she would at least have some alone time now that she wouldn't be able to use her secret spot.
"Yeah, there. Your friend, Grace, already paid her night's stay." Mrs. Cook answered in her thick Polish accent.
Stress slumped her shoulders as she remembered something that her father had told her right after her mother had died and they knew they were going to have to leave Ireland. "Remember this piece of advice, me wee child. Whatever can go wrong will. Tis Murphy's Law and it always works!" Stress had always laughed when her father complained about Ol' Man Murphy bringing him all this bad luck, but she also remembered it. "One more for good old Mister Murphy to claim." Of course Grace would be the only one there.
Knowing that it would just be infinitely worse to leave the lodging house, Stress proceeded to go up the stairs and enter the bunkroom. As she walked through the door she saw Grace sprawled out on a lower bunk, sobbing. When she heard someone entering the bunkroom, Grace looked up. Once she realized that it was Stress, she continued to sob even harder.
"Grace, what's the matter?" Stress asked as she hesitantly approached Grace's bunk.
Grace took a few deep breaths to compose herself. When she was able to speak, she turned to look at Stress. "Why?"
"Uh- why what?" Stress replied, puzzled.
"Why did you have to go and pick Dave?"
"Grace, what are you talking about? I'm afraid I don't understand."
"I got eyes ya know. I see the way that he looks at you but I also see the way that you look at him. You don't look at him the same way and ya know it!" Grace shouted, looking relieved to finally be getting it all off her chest.
"Grace, wait--" Stress started to respond.
"No, I ain't finished yet. You told me exactly how you felt about Jack when you was in Queens. I know that you didn't forget about him overnight."
Stress flinched at the mention of Jack's name. The memory of his kiss was as strong as ever. Trying to think of anything but Jack, she realized something that she was blind to before. "Ya like him, don't ya Grace? Ya like David and that's why you're so upset that I'm dating him." As soon as the words left her mouth, Stress knew that she was right. She wondered how she could have missed that.
Grace looked up at Stress, red staining her cheeks. "And what if I do?"
Murphy's Law strikes again. Of course Grace would develop a crush on David. "I'm sorry Grace, but I can't control the way that he feels."
"Yeah, but what about you?" Grace challenged.
"Ya know what, I think that I'm gonna turn in a little early tonight. See ya tomorrow at the distribution center," Stress didn't even wait for a response from Grace, instead choosing to climb into her bunk and hiding under her blanket to think.
"Damn ya Mister Murphy! An' Jack, damn Jack too!" she said to herself. This was all Jack's fault. He was making her weak now, playing with her heart and her mind. She had to forget about him. If she opened her heart all the way to him he would only break it. "Remember, no matter what happened today, he's still with Sarah," she thought, trying to make her decision easier to make. Even though she would end up hurting Jack, Grace and herself, she had to stay with David. It was the safe choice to make. "I'm sorry Jack. I'm sorry Grace," she whispered to her blanket as she lay in her bunk, preparing herself for a sleepless night.