Hello! Well, here it is, hot of the presses for you guys, my next chapter! A sincere thanks to my reviewers, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. And a stern look for all you people who are reading and not reviewing. ::looks stern:: I mean, I'm not trying to be obnoxious here, but I put a lot of time and effort into writing this. And it takes less than a minute to type up a review. I'm not going to beg for them, and this will be the last time I mention it, but I'm just saying, it's only fair. I mean, after all, you're reading it, and if you're still reading it by chapter four, you must not hate it, right? Even if you do hate it, let me know. That's the whole point of the review! Alright, I'm done now, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Nothin', Stress," Jack replied, smiling up at his girl smoothly. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"Well, where ya been all day? I didn't see you at the distribution office this morning," Stress asked, sitting in the space Jack provided her, as he slid deeper into the booth.

"Yeah, Jack, where ya been all day?" I repeated her question pointedly, raising my eyebrows at him. Jack shot me an irritated look but somehow managed to seamlessly transfer the look to a charming smile as he glanced at Stress.

"I—uh… I didn't sell this morning," Jack said. My jaw dropped in surprise; I couldn't believe he was going to tell her the truth. I mean, this was Jack Kelly, fibber extraordinaire. And he was about to tell his girlfriend that he "conveniently" stumbled upon a gemstone that was said to be worth several thousand dollars? Well, I certainly didn't want to be sitting there when the dynamite exploded, so I stood, nodding at Stress respectfully.

"Look, Jack, I think we still need to talk. Don't do anything stupid, okay?" Jack immediately assumed a look of complete innocence, opening his mouth to offer some smart reply, but I held my hand up to stop him, "I mean it," I added, with an edge to my voice. I guess he saw that I was serious because he just shrugged.

I left the table, but, instead of heading back out onto the streets, I was called to join another small group of newsboys who were all seated at a row of small tables in the middle of the restaurant. I briefly considered making my excuses and heading home, but decided against it. For one, if I showed up at home now, my mother would immediately start interrogating me as to why I was home so early. And I also figured it would be better to stay at Tibby's where I could keep an eye on Jack. Hopefully I could get him alone again before he left, and I could really talk some sense into him. If that was possible, anyways.

I took a seat at the only empty chair, the one closest to the booth Jack and Stress were now occupying. I smiled at the other boys. It was a good group: Dutchy, his girlfriend – whose name I couldn't remember, Bumlets, who was sitting close to a girl called Holiday, Specs, Pie Eater, and Mush. They all greeted me cheerfully; it seemed it had been a good day for selling.

"Did you see that beauty of a headline this morning, Dave? 'Millionaire robbed'," Mush grinned at me, "It was gorgeous, wasn't it boys?"

"That's great, Mush, some guy gets mugged, and you sit here gloating about it," commented Dutchy's girl.

Mush raised his hands defensively, "Hey, come on, Glory," Morning Glory, that was her name, "it's not like the guy died. He's fine, it said so right in the article, and it sold at least twice as many copies as normal."

"It is a little cruel, though, Mush," Holiday pointed out, taking a sip of her water.

Mush shrugged, "Girls." He muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

"You did what?!"

I jumped at the sudden outburst, and every head at our table turned to stare at Jack and Stress – because it had been Stress who had yelled. Jack was obviously trying to calm her down, talking low and fast, but Stress was just shaking her head incredulously. I knew the feeling.

The rest of the table drifted back into their own conversations, uninterested at what was going on at Jack and Stress's table. I, however, was very interested, and I leaned my chair back onto two legs, trying to hear what was being said.

"Jack, are you serious? What if that guy saw you?! He's a murderer, Jack!" Stress hissed, clearly a tad upset. Not that I could blame her. Smart girl, that Stress.

"We don't know that he murdered anybody—just that he stabbed someone," Jack replied. As if that made everything okay.

Stress responded, but her voice was low, so I couldn't hear exactly what she was saying. I leaned the chair back just a little farther, trying to make out her words. And that was my mistake. Because, the next thing I knew, I was on my back, practically folded in half. Let me tell you, it was not a comfortable position. That added to the fact that everybody in Tibby's was laughing rather loudly at me, well, it was rather disconcerting.

Stress's face appeared above mine, and she looked down at me with humor in her green eyes, "Hey, Davey, if you wanna eavesdrop, you can always just come sit at the table with us."

I blinked up at her, still trying to decide what had just happened. I knew I was blushing, my face felt like it was on fire. I stumbled to my feet, clearing my throat as I righted the chair, and placed it back at the table. "Thanks, but I'd better be going." So much for talking to Jack again, "You sellin' tomorrow, Jack?"

"Yeah, I think so, why?"

"Just, meet me at the Distribution Center tomorrow morning. And don't do anything, crazy, okay?" I asked.

"Define 'crazy'," Jack said, wrapping his arm around Stress's shoulder, now that she was seated in the booth again.

I opened my mouth to reply and then stopped myself, thinking about it. "Just… don't do anything," I finally said, after hesitating a moment more.

Jack laughed at that, in his "I don't have a care in the world" sort of way. I just shook my head, making my way back onto the street.

I had to pass the school on my way back to my family's tenement house. I sighed as I saw Elise coming out of the front doors. She spotted me right away and made a beeline right for me. Great, just what I need to add to my day.

"David!" She called, waving at me as she came down the steps, as if she thought I couldn't see her. Alright, fine, I was avoiding eye contact, but I couldn't avoid that call. Unless I pretended to be deaf.

I was considering the pros and cons of doing just that, pretending to be deaf I mean, when she sidled up to me. Hmm. I wonder if she'd believe I was deaf and blind. She placed her hand on my arm, stopping my walk. And that I'd developed a rare disorder, and could no longer feel. Yeah. Doubtful.

"Afternoon, Elise," I said finally, looking down at her.

"So, tell me, what did you really skip out of class early for?" She asked, getting straight to the point.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," I replied, stuttering a little. Yeah, that was real convincing.

"Uh huh. Right. C'mon, David, you came up with the most unconvincing lie ever, and then you walk by the school, towards your apartment, which is where you were supposedly going two hours ago. Of course, that's really believable," she replied, placing her hands on her hips.

I sighed, irritated. Maybe it was just because of Jack, and his ridiculous plan, but I was definitely more annoyed with her than usual. "Look, it's none of your business, is it? Why do you always have to poke your nose in where it doesn't belong? It's a pain!" I snapped at her.

She looked taken aback, like I'd slapped her across the face. "Well," she said, losing her defiant stance, and hugging herself around her middle. "Well," she repeated it, as if she was at a loss for words. Which, I'll tell you, would be a first for Elise Vandeers.

I sighed, running my hand through my hair, "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. It's just—I'm lacking in the sleep department a little bit right now. I guess it just set me on edge, that's all."

Elise raised her eyes so they met mine, "Right." She said in this tight little voice, "that's fine. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

She turned her back to me, and started walking off down the street. I groaned, watching her back for a moment, before I jogged to catch up with her, "Elise, wait, let me walk you home."

She wouldn't look at me, but instead was staring down at her shoes, "No, you don't have to. Wouldn't want to cause you any more pain."

"I said I was sorry. I didn't mean it, okay?" I really did feel bad, I had never talked like that to a girl before and, silently, I was blaming Jack for the little slip up. "Can you just forget I said it? Please?"

She glanced up at me again, and seemed to be considering the request. I was resigned to the fact that she was about to tell me off, in true Elise fashion, but she surprised me.

She sighed, "Sure. I know you didn't mean it. And I know I'm a pain sometimes, too. I don't mean to be, it's just the way I am."

We walked in semi-awkward silence the rest of the way to her home, and when we reached her front stoop, I paused. I was ready to leave her, and get back to my own apartment, but she stopped me, placing her hand lightly on my arm.

"Would you like to come in for a moment? I could get you a drink if you'd like, before you have to walk back."

"Uh, sure, I guess. That would be nice. Thanks," I helped her up the stairs, and waited as she opened the door. Her house was huge—and it actually was a house, not just a tenement—I'd never known before just how wealthy her family was, but they were definitely wealthy.

And then I saw them. The cops, I mean. There were two of them, a maid was just ushering them from the foyer into what I could only assume was a parlor of some kind. I glanced down at Elise, wondering if she knew what all this was about. The look on her face told me she had no idea.

She followed them into the room though, at a pace that I have to admit, was impressive for a girl dressed in a heavy floor length skirt.

I sighed, before following after her at a slower pace, no way was I going to remain in the foyer by myself. Never a dull moment in the life of David Jacobs, I thought to myself, a little bitterly, Nope, never a dull moment for me.