-1Chapter Four

Jack, once again in control of his own form, sat quietly on a chair in the hotel room. It had only been ten minutes since Clu, Carey, and Ned had left, offering to bring Jack along for lunch and some exploring of the town. Jack had declined, claiming he needed some sleep. Oddly enough, he was tired, but his mind kept racing.

"Alright, so explain to me this, Bricriu," Jack spoke to the empty room, almost expecting a ball of light to come bouncing in and start talking to him. Of course, that couldn't happen. Bricriu still remained deep in his mind, not ready to leave until he'd done his civic duty and rescued the medium from death, not that Jack knew of his eminent death. In fact, Bricriu had convinced Jack to let him in by telling him how he could help protect Fiona, not himself.

Jack stood and walked to the closet, staring at his reflection in the mirrored door. "Well? Bricriu… The guy that died is named Curier? The guy we met was giving us a wrong name?"

His reflection smiled at him. To be exact, he smiled at his reflection, a small smirk that Bricriu had decided to throw on the boy's face suddenly. Then, Jack began to respond to himself, watching his reflection closely. Bricriu had taken over again.

"It's obvious, isn't it? We've been duped by a spirit. Do you still have that key?"

Jack shook his head and walked away from the mirror. "Head-rush. Yes, I still have the key." He plunged his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out the key. "You put it there, you forgetful sprite."

"Don't ever call me that, boy! I'm no sprite. I'm a Spunkie! There's a difference."

Jack snorted. "I'd bet it's a wee one." He sat down again. "Alright, I really am tired, so I'm gonna try to sleep a little."

"In a chair, Duck?"

"Why do you call us all… never mind. Yes, in a chair. Now shush." Jack settled his head back on the chair and closed his eyes. It only took about three minutes for him to pass out, leaving Bricriu alone to go through his mind and talk to himself.

Bricriu studied Jack's memories thoroughly. Sure, he'd been through all of them once before, but he never believed in studying too much. Slowly, he sifted through conversations with Fi, Annie, Jack's mother Molly, Irene, Clu, Ned, and even a few short conversations with Gabe, Jack's ex-girlfriend.

In all honesty, the Spunkie still wondered what went wrong in Jack and Gabe's relationship. The two had seemed so perfect for each other, but something, somewhere along the line, had gone terribly wrong. Bricriu called up the last conversation the two had had, watching closely, trying to determine why this happened, and why it caused Jack so much grief.

Jack darted out of the bus and ran to Gabe, smiling as she rushed to his side and hugged him briefly. Jack pulled out of the hug and cast a wary eye on Gabe.

"Something up?" Jack questioned, staring more over Gabe's shoulder than at her. Behind her, not too far from the front stoop of her house, stood a guy about Jack's age, though more built. He wore a letterman's jacket and stood leaning against a tree, watching the two.

"Jack," Gabe looked down at her feet. "There's a few things you need to know."

"What? Is everything okay?" Jack's danger meter was going wild. He mentally calmed himself and looked back at the other boy, before finally resting his eyes on Gabe.

"I'm fine, Jack. But, I don't think that… this…" She stopped and looked away again, this time looking to the other boy. He stepped forward and stood next to Gabe.

"There's been a few changes around here, Phillips," came the other's gruff voice. Definitely a football player. Only a football player for a high school team could be so cocky and straightforward.

"Changes, eh?" Jack looked up at the football player. "And, your name? I mean, you already know mine." Jack knew, now, just what was going on. The way Gabe kept glancing to the football player for support. The way the other boy's arm hung loosely by his side, ready to up and sweep Gabe away from him. Jack stood his ground, ready to hear it out until the end.

"Name's Jason Cox," the other said, confidence dripping from each word. "Star quarterback at-"

"Yeah, I assumed that much." Jack looked back at Gabe and sighed. "So… lemme guess. You want to say goodbye. You want to tell me that you can't stand having a long-distance relationship. That you've found someone who will always be there for you, in Jason… Am I right?"

Gabe turned away, her eyes cast downward. This was not going as she had planned, and Jack could tell.

"Listen, Gabe." Jack took in a deep breathe and let it out slowly, deciding to keep playing this out. "I… I don't know why you want to do this right now, but I do know this… I will do anything to make you happy. Anything at all. Even if that means giving you up for him. After all, he is someone who can be there for you. He's always here and so close. So, I guess… No, I don't understand, but I'm gonna let it go. Because it's obviously what you want. Believe me, I've lived with enough women in my life to know how to read their actions and emotions. So, goodbye."

Jack turned to leave and stopped, removing his necklace and turning back to Gabe. "You were always my angel…" He handed her the necklace, but she stepped back.

"Keep it. I gave it as a gift and I'm not taking it back. The emotion was there then… Remember it." She then turned and walked back up to her house, hand in hand with Jason Cox.

Jack remained on the sidewalk, just outside the bus for several minutes. He watched the house until the two had gone inside and closed the door. Then, he simply stared down at the necklace in his hands. Finally, he turned and made his way back into the bus. Carey, Annie, Molly, Irene and Ned all looked up at him as he stepped slowly over the threshold.

"So, what'd she want, man?" Carey asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

"She… wanted to…" Jack shook his head and sat down on the couch and stared blankly at the opposite wall. "Can we go?"

Ned stood up, startled, and walked back to his seat at the wheel. "Sure thing, kiddo. We got places to be by tomorrow morning, so we're off."

"Thanks," Jack muttered. Slowly, he let himself slide down in his seat until his head hit the top of the couch and he raised his fist in the air, clutching the necklace. After a second of silence, he threw the necklace to the ground and let himself fall sideways onto the couch, his face buried in his arms.

"Don't do that!" Jack let out a yelp of surprise as he woke up with a start. He'd just had the worst dream. He had remembered, minute by minute and word for word, what had happened the day Gabe dumped him. "It's bad enough I have to harbor you. Don't make this worse for me. I can't stand that memory, and you should know that!" He buried his face in his hands and sighed. After a moment of silence from the inner occupant, he let his hands fall and settled back in his chair, falling asleep once more.

End Chapter Four…

Had to throw in the Gabe thing… It was a time filler… I guess… Some action next chapter, I promise.