Chapter 5

"'ello? Anyone 'ere?" Jake and Snoddy both called as they entered from the streets. Snoddy looked at Jake and shrugged, "guess we'se de first ones home." He said unaffected by the confusion on his friends face. "Cherish should be 'ere..." Jake said taking the steps up to the bunk room two at a time.

He entered the normally dark room, and was suspicious when he saw a lump on Cherish's bed with a blanket covering it. Approaching it cautiously he stuck a finger out and poked the squishy lump gently

He jumped back when the lump jumped and a strangled whimper came from under the blanket. A familiar whimper, Jake realized once he had gotten over his initial shock. "Cherish?" Jake asked peeking under the blanket only to have a hand reach up from where it had lain lifelessly beside the lump and push his head roughly from the blanket.

Jakes head popped back out from the blanket and he looked surprised at the rude gesture. Pulling the blanket from Cherish's head he gasped his big strong, print smudged hands turned her head, as he held it gently in his hands shaking his head in mute shock.

"What happened Cherish?" Cherish tried to pull away. It didn't work Jakes as holding firmly to her bruised jaw. "I... I... didn't mean to hurt anyone..." Cherish whispered, the tears dormant in her eyes, she refused to cry.

Jake swore as he ran his hand down her large black mark, a slap mark. His fingers each traced the many tiny scars across her face. He turned his head from the small bleeding gash at her temples and his stomach tossed angrily. "Who did this to you Cherish?" Jake asked trying to remain calm.

Cherish widened her eyes and shook her head pulling from him and huddling on the bed again. "No... No... N!" She whispered helplessly rocking back and forth slowly. Jake picked her up, ducking his head under Ravens bunk, sitting the girl on his lap as he said firmly, "Who did it Cherish?"

Cherish gulped a strange inaudible sound from her lips and she whispered, "It wasn't on purpose... it wasn't on purpose... promise ya won't git mad?" Jake nodded his stomach was still churning and the lie only increased his unease.

"Ise... Ise got inta a fight wit... wit'..." Cherish's eyelids closed for a moment as she dragged in a breath and whispered, "Raven..." The churning in Jakes stomach fell right out, until there was nothing but a numb feeling of sickness in his stomach. "Raven did this?"

Cherish went on to explain about the fingernails, and the slapping, and the hitting and the furious, disgusting insults Raven had hurled at her in her un-placatable fury after Shamrock O'Malley had told her that Cherish had stolen Jake on purpose.

"I just kept livin' it ovah and ovah ag'in. Am I bad? Does no-one love me?" Cherish asked pitifully as her dark mind retraced her steps. A slap from Shamrock. A rusty nail, dragged repeatedly across her face, a few choice words in the ears of a couple of drunkards, that had taken care of her physical state, then she had had around an hour in with to prepare her professional like act.

Jake rocked her tightly his mind whirling with sick thoughts, of a cat fight between the ever fragile Ice and the mean, manipulative cheater that was his ex-girlfriend. He said, "Jakes here now. Jakes here now." A repetitive monologue.

How could he have read someone so wrong. He prided himself on being a good judge of character. Unlike the others he actually observed people, cautiously careful, determining what they were doing and why. He had never picked up on Raven's violent temper... he never even associated the word temper with her... let alone violent. What had caused her to change so rapidly?

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"What's all this about?" Raven looked around the room of Manhattan News Boys and Girls. She was surrounded by so many faces. Faces she had considered friendly. Nice. Her family. Yet now she found many of them turned away from her in disgust or disbelief. At least there was some people that were looking at her.

The sympathetic faces of a few of her friends, Mockin' Boird, wearing another loud headkercheif, Twit and Ramble, Twit was smiling waterly and Ramble gave a silent thumbs up and a half smile. Firefly, with a confused anonymous, look. Buttercup a dark glare was darted towards the front of the crowd then a grim look of determination and support was passed subtlety on to Raven. Dollar was a tight smile and a whispered, "hey Rav..." and a quick clutch of her hand as she walked forward.

And her best friend Cherish. Raven frowned slightly as she saw Cherish at the front of the group Jakes protective arm wrapped around her hunched shoulders, as her head remained down bent. Absently Raven glared at Jakes arm, that had used to sit so snugly on her shoulders, and now, as Shamrock had told her, lay across Cherishs.

If only Cherish had told her. It would have been easier coming from her own mouth instead of the Brooklyn girls leader. Shamrock had told her that Cherish had been setting them both, Jake and Raven, up for a fall. But Raven couldn't believe that of her best friend. They were together, but they had been friends beforehand... and sometimes... things grew into more.

Raven's heart squeezed painfully. She would always love Jake. Always. But she wouldn't do anything to stand in the way of his happiness. That's why ever since Shamrock had told her what was going on she had stayed out of their way. She was temporarily at Brooklyn with Shamrock, Shasta was the only one that knew about it and had become a regular visitor in the 2 days since she had moved in.

"Ise can't believe you kin stand there so innocent after what you've done ta ya friend!" And me, Jake longed to shout brokenly. "How could ya do d'is ta someone d'at only wanted ta be ya friend?" Someone that loved you more then life itself. "How could ya let ya tempah lose on someone so fragile?" Some who would have done anything to keep you happy. Jake sighed at the thoughts of his own betrayal by the girl he loved echoing his statements.

"Raven, tempah?" Shasta asked surprised. Shasta had expected a show down. She knew Ice had been manipulating things again. But she hadn't expected Jake to accuse Raven of having a temper. It would have been less crazy to say Jack was humble, that Davey was stupid, that Spot didn't have a temper, that Les wasn't a midget.

Jake had never been one for public confrontation, but now it was his only form of defensive... if he wasn't surrounded by ALL these faces, all curious and wondering, he knew he would have forgiven Raven anything, everything... and have taken her into his arms like he longed to.

"Raven... I never want to see you again! You are cruel and have a problem wit' ya tempah! Have ya seen what ya did ta Cherish?" Jake asked going to grab Cherish's face only to have her strangle out wretchedly, "No... no Jake don't..."

"Ta Cherish? Raven ain't done nuttin' ta Cherish how could she 'ave? She's been in Brooklyn wit' Shamrock fer the last week or so!" Finally Jake managed to get a grip of Cherish's face and he lifted it into view a gasp coming from everyone but Jake, Cherish and Raven. "Ice... what happened?" Raven asked pleadingly her eyes searching Cherish's for some response.

Cherish tried to pull away from Jake and his somewhat punishing grip on her face and she whispered in what she thought was suitably stricken, scared tone, "I'm sorry Raven... I didn't wanna tell him... please... please... don't get mad..." Cherish trailed off the last 3 words a whisper.

"We donna wants people like you in d'is 'ouse Raven. Get out... get out and don't come back!" Jake said with a furious hiss to hide his breaking heart. "Ice..." Raven said her shocked, innocent face swinging away from Jake's harsh words to see, what Shasta had always claimed, a cold, dark kind of victory... a look of revenge... Raven let out a little gasp and ran from the room without a word in her defensive.

She had to get out of the room, the suffocating room. The glares. The glares from all around... like they were going to attack her any moment. Her first thought of it feeling like an ambush had been correct... not only was it an ambush... but a betrayal... by the 2 people she loved and trusted the most. The two people that had broken her very trusting nature. She felt nothing... just confusion, and heartbreak.