Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

On the bright side, Jack didn't run into the group. Unfortunately, they ran into him.

"Let me help! I really am quite sorry, um?" It was the petite girl who'd knocked him over with surprising strength.

"No no, it's fine, don't worry about it." Jack said as he picked up his flask that had fallen off when he fell. He slung the strap under his vest, the flask resting at his hip.

"No! I'll make it up to you, Mr.?" She was frantic, but Jack just wanted her to stop, so he could be unnoticeable, invisible again.

"It really is fine." He avoided the obvious prompt for his name.

The girl turned to Mrs. Bennett. "I'll pay for his apples, if that's okay."

Jack suppressed a groan. Why couldn't she just leave well enough alone? "You really don't have to…"

"Jackson," Mrs. Bennett scolded. Jack winced, he hated being called Jackson. "If the lady wishes to pay, then let her." She eyed him. "You would do the same, so don't try and stop someone else."

Jack frowned at her. Mrs. Bennett was a good friend of Mrs. Overland, as were her two children, but that meant she knew him well enough that she knew that would work. He sighed. "Yes, Mrs. Bennett." His frown turned into a mock-glare. "And don't call me Jackson!"

The dark haired girl watched the exchange quietly, but Jack remembered her (rather unfortunate) presence when she handed over a few coins. She smiled at Jack brightly, and he was once again struck by the unnatural violet color of her eyes.

"Here you are!" she offered him the apples with enthusiasm. "I am sorry about knocking you over; I wasn't watching where I was going." She laughed. "Anyway, I'm Tiana! It's nice to meet you, Jack, was it?"

He considered the hand she offered. "It's a pleasure." He said, eventually shaking her hand. "I must be going," he said nervously, edging away. "My lunch break is almost over, so bye!"

And with that, Jack took off. Hopefully that would be as much contact as he would come into with her, or her companions, and then they would leave. Jack nodded fervently as he took a bite of one of his apples. It would be a good day when they left Burgess.

"It's too bad that he couldn't stay and talk more." Mrs. Bennett said to Tiana as the two of them watched Jack run in the direction of the Inn. "He's generally very welcoming to people who decide to stay a few extra days. Oh well. I assume I'll be seeing you again, dear?"

"Yes." Tiana said delicately, still looking in the direction Jack had gone, even though he was well out of sight. "We are going to stay in town for a week, at least. Goodbye, Mrs. Bennett!"

Tiana walked away from the apple stall, waving to the woman behind it. She managed to find her other companions; they were stopped at a blanket stall.

"-Nice, would last long time! How much you say they were?"

Tiana stayed silent until the exchange was done. She had to agree with North, though. They were finely-made blankets that looked warm, and they would surely last a while. Good qualities, since both herself and Aster preferred the warmth over cold.

"So, Tooth, you find anything?" North asked her, tucking away the blankets in a bag he had brought to the market.

"Well," she started slowly. "The woman who sells apples, Mrs. Bennett, was very nice." She paused.

"And?" Bunny inquired. "You only slow down when there's important information."

"Yes," Tooth nodded. "I also met a boy, and-"

She didn't get farther than that, because the blond man elbowed her playfully, grinning at her suggestively.

"Not like that, Sandy! Moon above, no!" Tooth pressed a hand to her face, embarrassed. "I only met him because I ran into him, and payed for his apples after." She frowned. "He was very stubborn about not letting me pay, almost got away with it, but Mrs. Bennett intervened."

"Alright, so?" Bunny said. "This is important how, exactly?"

Shooting a sharp glare at Bunny, Tooth continued. "He also avoided telling me his name; it was Mrs. Bennett who let slip his name was Jackson." She smiled for a second. "Apparently, he goes by Jack."

It had the intended effect. Everyone payed attention then, and Sandy gestured for her to continue. "I think so. It was the person who behind the counter this morning."

"Brown hair?" North asked, sounding a little surprised. "A little plain looking. Are you sure?"

"Yes." Tooth nodded. "He had some kind of flask."

"We'll do some investigatin'." Bunny said. North looked irritated Bunny had said it first, but agreed nonetheless.

"It shouldn't be too hard." Tooth said brightly. "Mrs. Bennett said he's rather sociable."

She was trying to talk to him again, but this time, her companions were there too. Trying not to show outwards signs of distress, Jack set the last two plates down on their table.

"Hi Jack! It's nice to see you again! I forgot you worked here!"

Did she only talk in exclamation points?

"Hi Tiana. I forgot you were staying here." A frown flitted across his face. "How long are you planning on staying in Burgess, anyways?"

She laughed, her eyes glittering with a secret he didn't know. "Oh, a week at least. Maybe even longer!"

Jack tried not to groan out loud.

"Oh!" she said suddenly. "These are my friends! This is Aster," Tiana gestured to the tall grumpy man with graying hair. "This is Nick," she pointed to the large man with the long white beard, who waved enthusiastically. "And this is Sandy!" The short blond man waved sleepily.

"Is pleasure to meet you!" Nick said loudly, leaning forwards to shake Jack's hand. "Have heard-"

Jack quickly glanced back at the counter, where someone was waiting.

"Sorry to run," not really. "But I've got to get back to my post. Nice seeing you again Tiana!"

Jack dashed over to the counter. "Sorry about the wait." He smiled at the woman as he took her order.

At least a week, Jack thought. He took a sip from his flask. This will be an important topic to discuss when I get home…

A/N: It's me again! Last time I added a chapter, I realized I hadn't responded to reviews, so I put all of them here.

HikariCruz: Thank you so much!

The purple hippocampus: Nice to see you again, and thanks!

Guest: You're absolutely right, they don't give us much of her in the movie. I adore moments of Jack and his sister, so prepare to see her again!

FlyingFree: Well, here's another update!

HikariCruz: Yeah, I seem to go from very little speaking to lots and lots. There is no in-between.

Thanks for the reviews, and feel free to let me know of any mistakes. Or just leave a reveiw for encouragement. Until next time!