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.
Two Blocks from Irving Hall
His mind focused on finding Bookie and Stress, Jack began to race towards the Bottle Alley Lodging House. Since they both lived there he had a pretty good shot at finding one or both of them there. Not paying attention to where he was running to, Jack ran right into someone, knocking them over.
"Hey, watch it buddy!'
Jack stopped to help them up. "Oh, I'm so-- Bookie, there ya are!"
"What do ya want, Cowboy?" she snapped, not very happy about being bowled over.
"I've been looking for ya. I got a bone to pick with you. Do ya happen to know an over-excited blonde girl down at Medda's? Cause I'll tell ya this much, she seems to know you," he said, using the good eight or nine inches he had over her to look intimidating.
Bookie gulped but didn't let down her guard. "And what if I do?"
"Well, that there blonde just ruined any shot I ever had at getting Stress to be me girl."
"Aww, ain't that a shame." Bookie replied, her voice oozing sarcasm. "Poor Cowboy, actually getting hurt by someone instead of the other way around."
"What's that supposed to mean, Bookie?"
"Ya know what I mean. You. Scab. The strike. Ringing any bells for you, Jack?"
"Ya ain't still ticked off about that are you? I said that I was sorry and everyone forgave me."
"Not everyone," she said indignantly, sticking out her chin in defiance. "I still think that ya need to pay some more."
"I still think that ya need to pay some more." Her words echoed in Jack's head as realization dawned on him. "You told Stress to go down to Irving Hall tonight and then got that ditzy blonde to paw all over me so that Stress would see it. Didn't ya? Didn't ya!" he said as anger coursed through his body.
"No, actually, it was Stripes, Martini and Grace who told Stress to go to Irving Hall after they got Spot and Blink to get you there," Bookie corrected. "They all figured that you and Stress could spend the night together alone. Ya see, those five got this whole thing worked out to get you two to be together. But, yes, Violet, that ditzy blonde that ya mentioned, did do me a favor. I just don't think that you deserve to be with Stress."
Jack's eyes flashed as he spat out, "Don't ya think that should be up to her to decide?" With that, he turned to leave. Now that he finally understood what his friends had been up to the past few days, all he wanted to do was find Stress. But first he wanted to visit his pal, David, for some advice. Jack had heard that Dave and Stress had ended their relationship the day before and he thought that maybe Dave would be able to tell him why. "Maybe she broke up with him cause it was really someone else that she loved." He didn't want to jinx himself by thinking it was him.
Bookie stayed right where she was as she watch Jack storm off. For the first time since she had concocted her scheme, Bookie felt genuinely guilty. Just because she had a petty problem with Jack, she had gone out of her way to hurt him and make him miserable. Unfortunately she ended up hurting and making Stress miserable at the same time. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. "What have I done?" she said out loud to no one in particular. With a renewed sense of priorities, she promised herself, "I'm gonna try to fix this mess I made, somehow."
Jack was still fuming as he continued stalking off towards the Jacobs's. How dare anyone meddle in his and Stress's affairs? Things would have been fine if they would have been left alone to figure out their feelings for each other. And Bookie. He couldn't believe how far she had gone to get back at him for his mistake during the strike. As he found himself facing the door to the Jacobs's apartment, Jack took his frustrations out by pounding at the door.
The Jacobs's Apartment
David hesitantly went to answer the door. When he opened it and saw who it was, he quickly made to close it. Unfortunately for David, Jack rapidly stuck his foot in the door and proceeded to let himself in.
"Dave, who's at the door?"
Jack looked at David slyly and whispered, "Oh, so that's why ya didn't want to let me in. You're spending some alone time with your new girl. Let me just go say hello to her and I'll be on me way."
David opened his mouth to tell Jack that he didn't think that was a good idea but he was too late as he saw Jack strut into the living room. He sighed and followed him in.
"Hiya Grace! Remember me? The name's --" Jack's voice trailed off as he saw who was sitting on the couch next to Grace. "Stress! There you are. I've been looking for ya all over. We need to talk," he said as he made a move to sit down next to her.
Grace, still seething over what he had just done to Stress, was appalled at how he tried to play it off like nothing had happened. Before anyone could stop her, Grace stood up, walked over to Jack and, with all the strength she could muster, slapped him across the face.
Stress took that opportunity to leap off the couch and jet out the door. With a look of hatred towards Jack and an apologetic shrug to David, Grace took off after her.
"Umm... O.K., what just happened here?" Jack asked as he sat down on the couch in a daze, rubbing his sore cheek. "What was Stress doing here anyways? I thought that you two weren't together no more."
David looked at Jack dead in the eye. "We did. She came here cause she was real upset at seeing you in the arms of another girl. I thought that you two weren't dating. Why would that make her upset Jack? Do ya know?" David asked, though he himself knew the answer. He was quite anxious to know if Jack knew the answer as well.
Jack blushed violently and didn't say a word.
"Alright then, Jack, let me ask you another question. How do you really feel about her?" David continued, a part of him dreading hearing the answer to this question. Though he was now dating Grace, and was happy to be, the truth was that he had not gotten anywhere closer to getting over Stress. He knew that he would always love her, even if that love was channeled into a close friendship. But he also knew that what Jack had to say would help take away her pain even if it did hurt him to hear it.
Jack looked up at him. "Really really?" David nodded. "Well, simply put, I love her. I love everything about her. I love the way her hair frizzes after it rains. I love the way she always have to yell the loudest when we shout the headlines. Her competitive nature, ya know. I especially love the way her eyes sparkle mischievously when she tells me all about the latest prank she pulled in the lodging house. It took me a long time to admit it to myself but I really do love her." When he had finished his last sentence, he looked away. As he has said each word aloud to David he had known that it was the truth, though right now he doubted if Stress would ever speak to him again.
"Well, if it makes ya feel any better, she feels the same way about you."
Jack looked back over at David. "How do you know that?" he questioned, begging it to be true.
"She told me yesterday. She said that she couldn't date me when her heart belonged to another even if that other person didn't feel the same way."
"But I do, I really do. How can I make her see that?" Jack pleaded with David.
"It might help if you didn't run into another girl's arms right in front of her," David said pointedly.
"But Dave, Bookie put that girl, that Violet, up to it. She had Violet walk up to me and start kissing me all over once I walked into the door of Irving Hall, I swear. That's what Stress saw, honest."
David looked at Jack in surprise. "In that case, we're gonna need a little more help. Stress is really upset and I don't think she's gonna be too forgiving. I think that we better get Martini and Stripes for this one."
Jack looked over at David in amazement. "Ya knew about them too?"
David chuckled at the look on Jack's face. "Don't you worry, Jack. We'll figure this all out tomorrow."
Bottle Alley Lodging House
Though she could still hear Grace running right behind her the entire way, Stress didn't stop until she entered the bunkroom. Though almost all of the other girls were already in for the night, Stress's eyes rapidly scanned the room for the two girls she wanted to speak to. When she spied them conversing on Stripes's bunk, Stress stalked over to them.
"Why?" she asked them, plainly and simply.
"Uh, Stress? What happened?" Stripes asked, taking in her appearance.
"Why did you do that to me? Did you want to see me humiliated? Did you want to see me look like a fool?" she thundered, unable to control her rage.
Stripes tried to appease her by speaking gently. "Stress, what are you talking about?"
"Jack," she hissed between her teeth, "You two knew he'd be there with that... that girl! And you sent me there to see it, didn't ya!"
Martini looked visibly guilty. "Well, we kinda knew that Jack would be there but he was supposed to spend the night there with you, not some other girl."
"I guess that he didn't know that cause when I got there he was getting kisses from this blonde girl in a dress."
Bookie overheard the conversation, as did the rest of the girls in the bunkroom - it was that loud - and realized that now would be the perfect opportunity to make up for all the problems she had caused. "Stress, I gotta tell you something."
Stress turned to face Bookie. "No, not right now, Bookie. I ain't in the mood to talk no more. I'm going to bed." She calmly walked over to her bunk and got in. Once she was safely under her covers, she made a decision. "Tomorrow, I'm gone!"