Ready to go after that UNBELIEVEABLE cliffhanger? … I am! Sorry for the wait… going through a very "difficult" time right now…but I'll try to not let it affect my updating. Sorry again!

Love,

Lauren :)

OMD: Ahaha, I saw on your review for Missing Link :) And hehe, I know, I know, yell at me, hunt me down and kill me, but its ALL part of the story :) And thanks, that means a lot! I love when reviewers tell me that :) I mean, I'm my biggest critic so sometimes I doubt myself, but that just perked me up! And ahah, it wasn't THAT lame :) And I did post pretty soon, only a day or two later, so that should be good enough! :) Thanks again!

StarryEyedReviewer: That's alright! And hehe, I know, I know :) Well, your waiting is over!

Jack's eyes quickly darted away from mine and he nervously ran his shaky hand through his hair.

"Oh, uh," he stammered. I furrowed my brows and repeated my question.

"Jack… who is Rose?" He looked back at my eyes, his now almost… dare I say it? Tearing… up!

"Jack?" He sniffled quickly and rubbed his eyes, careful not to let me see any tears, even though I knew very well there were some.

"I'm, I'm fine, Laurel, really." He said, trying to reassure me…

But I didn't buy it…

Not one bit…

"Jack,"

"Mr. Dawson." He corrected me. I smiled awkwardly and raised an eyebrow.

"Jack, I'm lying on your couch in the middle of your apartment, I think we're past formalities." He immediately shot up, his face turning a bright pink, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"I, you, uh, I, um," he stuttered. I laughed again and whacked him in the shoulder. "Ow." I sat up further, still smiling, and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Jack, you can tell me who she is. Is, are, are you like, cheating on Cassandra?"

"No!" he said abruptly, almost startling me.

"Alright then," I said. "Who is she?" He sighed and slumped down further into the couch.

"Before I met Cassandra, I, I loved someone before," he began. I peered my eyes.

"What did you, did you break up or something?" I asked. He shook his head and sighed again.

"N-no," he said, his voice shaking. "She, she um,"

"Oh," I said, realizing where he was going, realizing what he was saying. "I'm, I'm sorry." He sniffled again and sat up.

"Don't be," he instructed. "It was, it was, a lot of people died that night, Laurel. It really was nothing anyone could have controlled after it began." I sighed, a little confused, and then smiled.

"Tell me about her." I instructed. He looked up at me and furrowed his brows.

"What?" he asked. I smiled again and brought my knees to my chest.

"I said tell me about her."

"Why?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"You said I reminded you of her. So, tell me about her, this, this Rose." He smiled and got up, returning to the kitchen.

"Hmm," he said as he grabbed two mugs from a cabinet above his sink. "Well, in a way, you, you almost look a little like her. You have the same full lips. And she had curly hair as well, only hers was red, not blonde."

Click!

"Ow," I whispered as a strange, sharp pain hit my head. He looked back at me as he now poured black, strong smelling coffee into the two mugs.

"What was that?" he questioned. I rubbed my head and smiled.

"Oh, ah, nothing, sorry," I apologized. "Just, just my mom and I have the same lips, and the same hair, but, but hers is red, too." He smiled and grabbed the milk from the white fridge.

"Milk?" he asked, referring to it being poured into my coffee.

"Ah, yes, please." I said. He smiled again and poured a relatively large amount into both mugs.

"Also," he continued. "She wanted to be an artist. Like you, her… family life wasn't the greatest, and all she wanted to do was run away and become an artist," he chuckled. "To, "to live in the garret, poor but free!" She said that all the time." I smiled.

"Hmm," I said. "I guess we do have quite a bit in common." He smiled again and walked back over with our coffee, and handed me my mug before he sat back down onto the couch.

"I then told her about my life, my adventures, and although she never said it, I knew she was fascinated by them. Heh, I promised her I'd take her to Santa Monica so we could ride roller-coasters and horses and drink beer. But, uh, that, that never happened."

Click!

I threw my hand to my head.

"Ow, uh, my, my mom and I lived in Santa Monica for a while. She said she always wanted to go there, too. She said my dad also promised her that they would ride horses in the surf," I began. "But, haha, my dad made her promise no side saddle! She had to ride like a real cowboy, and that's the way she made me do it. Then when we went on the roller-coaster, I think we went on it about a hundred times, we threw up twice afterwards!" Jack's eyes widened.

"He, he said that?" he asked.

"Said what?" I asked in return.

"No, no side saddle. And, and throwing up and-"

"Yeah," I interrupted. "He did. He was going to teach her to ride like a man and chew tobacco like a man and spit like a man! But… but he died before that." Jack sat up.

"He, he really said all that?"

"Yes!" I said with a chuckle. "Why?" He furrowed his brows and shook his head.

"No, I, I just told Rose I'd teach her that stuff, too," he explained. "What a coincidence."

Click!

"Huh," I said. "I, I just, huh." Jack looked back at me.

"What?" he wondered. I smiled awkwardly and looked back at him too.

"I just realized, well not really realized but, my, my mom's name is Rose," I explained. His eyes widened again.

"Really?" he asked. "Huh, a lot of coincidences today." I furrowed my brows and looked away.

"I, I don't believe in coincidences."

I woke up again, not realizing that I had fallen asleep, in Jack's arms. I furrowed my brows and looked up at him. His face was soft and gentle, a little wrinkled, but that was alright, he was still quite handsome. I sighed and nuzzled my face back into his arm. A slight smile washed over his face, and even though I knew he was asleep, I was still flattered. Then I realized something.

He was getting married.

Married.

Married.

Two people I cared about deeply were getting married… and I didn't want them to. But, I couldn't tell them that, now could I? It would break their already torn hearts. For example, my mother. After losing her one true love and having to raise their daughter almost practically alone, she deserved to love again, and I knew that, I just didn't want to think about it. And Jack. After losing his Rose, he deserved to love again, too, and to be loved.

They both did.

A small tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped it away quickly. It was strange, though, what Jack and I were talking about. He was right, there sure were a lot of coincidences that we discovered.

But like I said before…

I don't believe in coincidences.

I uncovered the blanket and looked around for a second, trying to figure out how to go about getting off the couch. I groaned and threw my legs over Jack's, and stretched to touch them to the floor. I did then slowly raised myself from Jack, gently moving his arm from around me. I continued to get up, almost in slow motion, and sighed once I was balanced on my feet. I looked around for a pen and paper, when I spotted one on the kitchen counter. I walked over there slowly, careful not to let the wood floor creak, and grabbed the pen.

Thank you, Jack.

I wrote quickly, when I realized something.

It was Tuesday… and I had frigging school!

"Shit," I murmured. I looked around quickly, and then back to Jack.

Jack.

I sighed, bit my lip, and ran out the door after quickly looking at the clock.

EIGHT O' FRIGGING CLOCK!

I'm dead.

My mother… is going to kill me.

SO? GREAT? GOOD? TERRIBLE? Le'me know! Posting chapter 10 later today as well… so be on the look out! Gosh, I love days off school! :)