Title: Secrets Behind the Lies

Author: Stress

First written: June 27, 2002- March 19, 2004

Edited and replaced: May 16, 2006

Summary: Part II of the Soul Mates Series; After living in Manhattan for two years, Stress thought she knew everything about Jack Kelly or, should we say Francis Sullivan? Well, guess not.

--

Inside Tibby's

"After you," kidded Jack as he held the restaurant door open for Stress. "What's the matter?" he asked when he saw her scowl and stomp over to a nearby booth.

"Jack, I'm trying to be serious and you just want to kid around today," Stress explained as she plopped herself onto the seat, placing the three or so papers she hadn't sold on the tabletop of their booth..

Jack, empty-handed since he had sold every last one of his papers, slid into his seat gracefully, his smile widening at her obvious distress. "What's there to be serious about, Stressie?"

"Listen. I know that there's something going on, and I also know that you know what it is. Why don't we just cut to the chase and talk about it." Stress sat up in the booth and leaned forward, eager to know what had delayed Jack that morning.

"Excuse me. Can I get you kids anything today?" The waiter, a tall and lanky kid, maybe two years older than Jack and Stress, with black hair and brown eyes, asked as he approached their booth and interrupted their conversation.

Stress saw the gleam in Jack's eye that meant "I ain't a kid" and jumped in before Jack had a chance to get them kicked out of the restaurant. "Just a couple of waters. We'll order our food later."

The waiter nodded. "Sure, just let me know when you and your boyfriend here are ready to order."

"He ain't me boyfriend," she said automatically as she slouched back in her seat, flipping her hair out from behind her.

"Really. In that case, my name is Ben and--" The waiter began to lean over the table to extend his hand to Stress but stopped when Jack stood in front of him.

"If you don't mind, we'll let you know when we're ready to order our food. Thank you." Jack just glared at him until he got the hint and walked away, muttering something about "just making friends with the customers."

"Cowboy! I can't believe you just did that! He was just being friendly," Stress hissed her words at Jack as her eyes flashed yellow.

Jack flinched slightly at the name "Cowboy." He knew that Stress only called him that when she was either really annoyed or really angry at something he had done. "I'm sorry, Stressie, but he was all getting in our business and then he was basically falling all over you and..."

Stress giggled at the way Jack was getting all flustered. "Jack, where you jealous of him?"

Jack turned beet red. "No, of course not."

"Because he's awful cute. Ya want to do me a favor and see if he has a girl?" Stress tried to hide her smile as she antagonized her pal. It was just so much fun to make fun of Jack.

"No! I mean, no. If you like him so much, you can do it yourself." It was hard to miss the pouting note in his voice.

"I'm just kidding Jack. If there ever comes a day when I settle down and get meself a guy, you can be sure that it'll be you."

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

"It's a promise, Jack." Stress smiled warmly at Jack, just glad that she had a friend that she could joke around with without having to worry about having to perform. A friend with whom she could be herself, without having to put up a tough front. A friend with whom she didn't have any secrets from. "Secrets..." she murmured to herself. She had almost forgotten why she was in Tibby's with Jack in the first place. "Jack, are you going to tell me about what happened this morning or what?"

"Or what," Jack announced, looking down at the tabletop.

Bam. Jack jumped in his seat when he heard Stress' palm slap against the table. "Jack, don't play games with me. I want to know what's going on, and I want to know now."

"But, Stressie, I promised I wouldn't tell." Jack looked up, trying to use his puppy-dog eyes to get Stress to drop the subject.

It didn't work. "Jack, don't you trust me? I'm your best pal, you can tell me anything."

"I know."

"And we ain't ever had secrets before, right?"

"Right."

"Do you want to start now?" Stress leaned over the table and, using her left hand to support her torso, lifted Jack's head with her right hand so that he had to look her in her eyes when he answered.

"No. We ain't ever going to have secrets," Jack barely whispered the word as he sat in the noisy restaurant, staring into her green eyes.

"Are you ready to order ye-- Oops, guess not." Ben, the waiter, walked up to the table, surveyed the serious scene he had walked in on and turned around to head back to the kitchen, now muttering "sure he's not your boyfriend, sure..."

Stress broke her gaze with Jack when she started to giggle. "I can just imagine how weird we look right now, eh?"

Jack joined in. "Yeah, he must think we are the strangest streetrats he's ever seen in here."

"Yeah, well, I've seen worse." Stress just smiled for a moment and then, for no apparent reason, just dropped her head down onto her arms.

"Stressie, are you'se O.K.?" Jack asked, sounding a little panicked.

"Yeah, Jack. I'm fine. It's just that every time I'm about to find out what's going on, something or someone just interrupts. I'm getting aggramavated here."

Jack stifled a chortle at her attempt to sound smarter by using large words, but it came out as a snort instead. "Alright, since you're me best pal--"

Stress couldn't help herself though. "Did you just snort?"

Jack turned red again as he swatted playfully at her. "Y'know I was just about to tell you but now I think I'll just change me mind."

"I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't mean it! Please tell me," Stress begged, clasping her hands in front of her.

"Nope, don't think I will," Jack stated, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his face away from her's.

Stress slid out of her seat and kneeled next to his. "C'mon, Jacky-Boy. I'll be good, I swear." When she didn't get an answer from him, she began to tickle him, heading straight for his ticklish spot under his arms.

Jack began to wiggle in his seat, trying to evade her ticking fingers. "I give, I give."

"What, Jacky? I can't hear you," Stress said loudly as she continued to tickle him.

"Are you ready no-- Nope, not yet either." Ben took one look at the two of them and just shook his head. "Since when do we serve monkeys here at Tibby's" were his mutterings this time around.

Stress stopped tickling Jack for a moment and just stared after Ben. "Oh my God, he must seriously think we're loons," she gasped through her still heavy laughter.

Jack just shook his head as he scooted in his seat in an attempt to get farther away from Stress' fingers. "If I promise to tell you why I was late to the distribution center this morning will you stop tickling me and never breath a word of what I tell you to any one?"

Stress nodded, a satisfied yet eager grin on her face. "Of course, Jack."

Jack spit into his hand and held it out to Stress. Once she did the same, he leaned back in his seat and began to relax. A newsies spit shake was their word; He had no worries that Stress would spill the beans anyways, and now that she had shook with him, he knew that she couldn't. "Alright, this is what happened..."