Disclaimer: The character Rafe Edwards is the creative property of me, as is Stress, Dice, Switch and various other characters. The character Jack Kelly (among others) is the property of Disney. The words following each chapter heading are from the Bryan McFadden song, "Demons in my Dreams" and are used in order to help create the context in which the plot was conceived.
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DEMONS IN MY DREAMS
Have you ever been lost in a different world?
Rafe Edwards is a leader eager to try his luck out at going straight.
What happens when his gang wasn't what he thought it was?
Or his newfound loyalties are questionable?
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VIII. ENTER CONFLICT
The Demons in my Dreams…
The early morning breeze sent a stray curl or two whirling around her dusty face. She snuggled closer to her source of heat before sleepily trying to stay her hair. But she couldn't – something was holding her arms down.
The realization hit her and her eyes reluctantly opened. No longer lost in the vestiges of sleep, Stress woke up and glanced around. She looked downwards and saw that she had been sleeping outside, back up against an old brick building. She wasn't alone, though. The young man sleeping beside her had wrapped his arms protectively around her.
There is a slight problem with this, she thought, quite logically given her situation. He's not Jack.
Stress gently slid out from his embrace and scooted away as if, by distancing herself from him, it erased what had happened.
But what had happened? She remembered Hope, she remembered being furious, she remembered Irving Hall. She remembered being hurt at Jack's attitude and at his inability to come after her. This boy, this Rafe, he had come instead.
A good three feet away from him, Stress watched as Rafe, in his sleep, felt around. The sudden absence of her body next to his alerted him to the morning chill and he began to wake up. He stretched his arms out and yawned before fully opening his hazel eyes. She noticed that, once they were open, his eyes darted about as if he was trying to get hold of where he was. When his gaze fell on Stress, he grinned sheepishly; he was obviously somewhat confused. "Good morning?" It was more of a question than a greeting.
She ignored him. She didn't know how they ended up falling asleep outside together and she didn't care. Her only thought was that she had to get away from him. Rafe was dangerous.
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Rafe followed closely behind her but took care to make sure that the distance was enough that she didn't get unnerved by his presence. From the way she kept her head straight, refusing to even look sideways at him, he knew she was upset with him. She hadn't said a word to him back in the alley. She had just stood up and began to head to the Duane Street Lodging House. He figured her destination out quickly; where else would she go? Besides, as she walked, all she did was mumble about "the damn Cowboy".
But why is she mad at me? He hadn't been anything less than respectable toward her the night before. He had comforted her that was all. So what if they had fallen asleep outside together? They were safe and sound, weren't they? And he hadn't even tried to steal her necklace.
As he walked behind her Rafe let his mind wander back to the way the silver chain had glinted under the moonlight. It would have been so easy for him to remove it and slip it into his pocket without her ever knowing. And he hadn't done it.
In the back of his mind he had an idea as to why he had left her jewelry alone – but he wasn't ready to admit that to himself just yet. After all, he had only just met the girl the day before. Was it possible that, in such a short time, he had grown attached to her?
In a way, it does make sense, he thought. She had been the first girl in a long time that he had even spoken to; she was the first girl he had ever embraced, even if he had only been consoling her at the time. I wonder…
Rafe was so busy working through his own confused thoughts that he didn't notice it when Stress had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. He bumped right into her.
The contact brought him back down and he jumped back, throwing his arms up in a defensive position. A tiny smile crossed her face when she caught sight of his stance. She was amused.
Fighting an embarrassed blush that came at his being caught off guard – Another first – he ran his hand through his black hair and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that."
She waved her hand to dismiss his apologies. "It's me that should be sorry," she answered. Her voice is hoarse, he noticed and he remembered her shouts and sobs from the night before. "I really should have thanked you sooner but, back in the alley, I just didn't know what to say…" She let the end of her sentence trail off before she shrugged. "So, uh, thanks, I guess." He could see that she was not used to showing her gratitude – it seemed painful for her to say the word "thanks".
She turned around again and began to walk away slowly. Rafe, surprising himself, found that he did not want their brief conversation to end. "Hey, Stress," he called out. She turned around, stiffly. "What did you thank me for?"
She smiled – it was a genuine smile though sadness still touched it – and Rafe was floored by the difference it made in her appearance. He found he also liked to see her smile.
Rafe was finding many things that morning.
Stress smiled. "I wanted to go out and find those damn Wraiths last night and, if you hadn't have come after me, I wouldn't have stopped until I did. Jack tells me I'm too impulsive sometimes…" Her voice just faltered before her smile slipped off of her face. She stuck her hands in her pants pockets, nodded once, and turned around. She resumed a quickened pace as she moved forward. This time Rafe did not call out to her.
Jack. Rafe had forgotten all about him. Just what would Cowboy do when he found out about what had happened between him and Stress the night before? He didn't know but, as they were only a few blocks away from the Lodging House, he knew he would find out very soon.
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Switch saw the lines deeply etched beneath Jack's eyes and knew that he was telling the truth. The older boy looked like he had been struck by a cart on his way back from Irving Hall the night before. His brown eyes were glazed, his hair was a mess and he was walking very stiffly, almost as if he had spent the entire night sitting on a porch. Which, of course, he had – but Switch had no way of knowing that.
He must have been up worrying about the Wraiths, Switch thought. Should I really add this to all of his worries?
Jack rubbed his eyes with his hands and pushed his greasy brown hair out of his face. "Look, kid, is this important? Cause I'd like to get some shut-eye before I go out with the papes."
Switch thought it over for a moment. Maybe it would be better if he told Jack now when he was too tired to do anything stupid about the situation. Besides, if Jack found out that he knew about Stress and Rafe and didn't tell him about it – well, sleeping back out on the streets would start to look pretty good then. He took a deep breath. He was too young for this type of pressure. "Hey, Cowboy, how well do you know that Rafe kid?"
Jack's sleepy eyes became a little more alert. He half-closed one and narrowed its twin on Switch's nervous face. "Why?"
The younger boy swallowed. He longed for a cigarette but knew he wouldn't be able to satisfy his urge until Jack heard what he had come to tell him. He mentally kicked himself for getting involved. Next time he would keep walking. "Well, you see, I kinda ran into him sleeping in the alley down by Medda's this morning…"
Jack knew there had to be more to Switch's story than that. He just wasn't sure if he wanted to hear it. "And?"
Switch removed his dusty beige newsboy cap and scratched his head. "The thing is, Cowboy, he wasn't alone. There was a girl with him." He jammed his hat back onto his head and took a step back. He wasn't sure what Jack's response would be.
His stomach seemed to flip and he was glad he hadn't had time to find any breakfast that morning. "It was Stress, wasn't it?" He really didn't need to ask but he knew he wouldn't be able to accept what Switch was saying unless he got it clarified.
Switch's curt nod was all he needed.
Sudden anger flooded through him. I knew it – from the moment I set my eyes on that kid, I knew it. And I let him go after her last night. God damn it, I am an idiot. Jack was wide awake now. He turned around and began to head out of the door he had only just entered.
Switch knew that he should have been expecting this. "Hey, Jack? Where are you going?" he called out, momentarily stunned at the way that the older boy had stalked off.
"I'm gonna find that Rafe and take care of him," was the heated reply. Switch hurriedly ran after Jack. He wouldn't miss this for the world. Stuff like this did not happen every day; he'd have enough information to trade with the other fellas to keep himself stocked up on cigarettes for at least a week.
Anger fueled Jack's every step as he moved away from the Lodging House toward the direction of Irving Hall. He was angry at the new kid for making a play at his girl even after being warned multiple times. He was angry at Stress for turning to Rafe last night instead of listening to what he had to say. He was angry at himself for driving her into the arms of another guy.
And he was angry at the Wraiths. If it wasn't for the street gang's increased activity in Manhattan during the last few weeks – including the four attacks this past week alone – then Jack's mind wouldn't have been so distracted lately. They were entirely at fault for Hope's death; the loss of one of her closest friends was enough to widen the gap that had separated Stress from him. And, if there wasn't a gap, Rafe wouldn't have been able to fill it with himself.
Jack was so angry that he almost, for the second time, walked right past Stress and Rafe. He would have, too, if not for Switch. The younger boy had caught up to Jack and, while panting, pointed out the pair one block over. "Hey, Cowboy, there they are."
He saw them approaching before they spied him. The morning rush was about and it was fairly easy to be missed amongst the crowd. Jack nodded his thanks to Switch before jogging over to the two of them. Stress, a few feet in front of Rafe, saw Jack first. She grinned happily at him and stopped. "Jack."
But he ignored her and continued to jog right past her. He didn't stop until he had reached Rafe.
Rafe smiled uneasily at the year younger boy. He could almost feel the anger that radiated off of him. "Morning, Cowb—"
His greeting was cut off when Jack pulled back and swung right at his face. His right hook landed at the corner of Rafe's mouth. Rafe's head followed the punch and remained turned to the side after Jack withdrew his fist.
"Cowboy, no!" Stress watched in horror as Jack moved to hit Rafe a second time. She ran forward and grabbed his arm, holding on tight. "It's not what you think."
Jack stopped the second swing and allowed Stress to hang onto him. He turned to look at her and there was betrayal in his brown eyes. "Oh really, Stress? Then just what is it?"
She was stumped for a second and Jack took the opportunity to try to shake her off of his arm. She didn't loosen her grasp. "Just stop it, Jack, and let me explain," she pleaded, her voice cracking.
He looked at her; there were tears welling in her green eyes. He nodded.
Rafe took the moment to slowly move his head forward. He had been anticipating several blows to follow the first but was glad that Jack was listening to Stress. He wiped the corner of his mouth and stopped to look at the dribble of blood that had transferred to his hand. "Well, I guess I did deserve that."
