JustAnotherFanGirl2004: Their pasts will definitely help their friendship, because Rose needs someone who really understands some parts of her life, even if she tries to deny it. As you will see in this chapter, they really do have that in common.

Green Meadow1870: It's easy, even for me, to forget about how much Rose has changed because she's so comfortable around her circus family now. And you got his character down well. I usually don't plan out my characters personalities - just a vague idea of them - and just see where the story takes them, but your guess sounds pretty accurate.

And thank you so much! I love writing this story, even if sometimes I have trouble with finding the words for it!

Looneygirl: That would be fun to write, although I'm not sure how I would work it in with the character development for Timothy that I have planned...maybe next chapter he'll make a reappearance...

Angryfanfic: Just you wait...

We'll touch more on the effects her abusive past had on Rose in this chapter. Looking back, I realized I never really wrote about the effect it would have on people touching her, and I need to fix that.

Chapter Seventeen

The first time Jackson met Ella and Vivian was about a month after he arrived at the circus. He still hadn't performed yet, but watched Rose in amazement. He had seen her do the routine a million times at practice, but it still amazed him.

However, he frowned when he saw her move away at the ending performance. She joined him in the doorway and just stood there in silence, humming along to the song.

"Why aren't you part of the final performance?" he finally asked her.

"It involves singing."

She said it as though it were obvious, and Jackson frowned.

"Are you a bad singer or something?"

"No."

It was an answer and at the same time anything but one. Jackson nearly sighed. He'd tried to become closer to Rose and get to know her, but she was clearly very guarded and didn't let anyone in easily. He usually got answers out of people for his many questions, but with Rose there were no answers that didn't lead to more questions.

The performance ended and he saw Rose brighten when she saw someone. She walked forward, and he followed, curious to see what it was.

She approached two white girls and they smiled when they saw her.

"Rose!" Ella exclaimed, happy to see her.

"Hey girls! Hello Mrs. Ambers," Rose said.

"Hello Rosalyn," Mrs. Ambers answered, giving her a small smile.

"The show was awesome!" Vivian said eagerly. "How do you not fall off?"

Rose chuckled and answered, "Magic."

"We should be going," Mrs. Ambers said. "I have to get Vivian back to her mother, but I'll bring the girls here on Saturday so they can see Helen."

Rose smiled and nodded.

"I'll see you then."

She waved as they left, and Jackson walked up to her as she started to walk away, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her. It was a small move, but to his surprise Rose flinched - physically flinched - the moment he touched her. Noticing this, he quickly pulled his hand back.

"Yes Jackson?" she said politely.

"I was just wondering how you met those girls."

"I helped them one time when they got lost in the streets, and brought Ella and Vivian back to Ella's mother."

He smiled. Finally, a straight answer. But as Rose walked away, the smile turned into a frown. She clearly didn't like to be touched. She would let Caroline, Helen, Anne, Phillip, Lettie, Phin, and Charity touch her the most and occasionally the others, but still seemed uncomfortable with touch unless it was those seven people.

There was something she was hiding from him.

The next day, Rose and Anne weren't with Lettie when she arrived. Jackson bit his lip, worried, and was glad when Phillip asked where they were.

Lettie sighed.

"Rose had a nightmare a half hour before we usually wake up. Anne is with her. It's harder to comfort her right now because she usually falls asleep again a half hour after the nightmares, but right now she's wide away."

Phillip frowned.

"She hasn't had a nightmare in ages. What happened?"

"I don't know. Something must have triggered it."

Jackson stared at his knife, not really seeing it. So Rose had nightmares...but why would she have nightmares? And why were Phillip and Lettie acting like they were normal? No one talked much about their pasts before the circus, but Jackson didn't miss the worried looks Phillip and Anne would send Rose when she zoned out for a really long time or just stared at her reflection in a mirror or her hoop.

There was more to her past than she was telling him.

Rose arrived a bit later with Anne next to her. She quickly shrugged off the coat and pulled her skirt off so she was just in her leotard. Something about the look in her violet eyes made Jackson frown. She looked so hollow. As she walked to the hoop, Jackson stopped her.

"Try picturing a perfect place, real or imagined. Like your happy place. And then just take yourself through it until you calm down. Try it before bed and again later." he said simply, and she frowned.

"What?"

"To help with your nightmares."

Rose looked down at her hands, her dark brown hair falling in her face as much as it could while it was in a ponytail, and her eyes studying the metal of the hoop.

"Who told you?" she muttered.

"I heard Lettie and Phillip talking about it. Do the others know?"

"They know my...past...but they don't know about the nightmares."

"I won't tell them."

She gave him a grateful smile. Despite opening up a lot, she still didn't like showing weakness.

"Wait," she stopped him as he turned away. "How do you know it works?"

He gave her a sad smile. "Because I use it to help with my nightmares."

She blinked in surprise as he turned away, and recalled what he had said before.

"I'm a runaway. My family was...awful to say the least so I decided to leave. I needed a job so I came here."

Maybe they had more in common than she thought.

That night, Rose stared at her bed, nervous. She had read a newspaper article about an orphanage being set on fire by one of the kids in it yesterday, and it had brought up a fresh wave of memories that caused the nightmare.

She still remembered laying in bed and waking up to the smell of smoke...trying to escape but there was no escape...being abandoned...

She took a deep breath, shoving the memories down as she lay in bed. She closed her eyes and saw the circus. It was dark, and the stars were shining outside. Inside, it was lit up. She walked in and saw everyone, her family, there. There were no people watching, only them. They didn't have to put on a show, her parents didn't have to pretend they weren't in love in front of all those people, they could just be themselves, and be happy. They all sat down in a circle like they did after the fire and talked, just talked and laughed and smiled. And she was there. She was home.

And she didn't have a nightmare that night.

Done! Tell me what you think of Rose and Jackson's growing friendship! And the idea for 'finding your happy place' was actually something my therapist told me when I mentioned I had trouble sleeping. I think it applies to nightmares too, but I'm not positive.

Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter!

-Creator of Magic