Author's Note: Here's chapter two! How's that for fast, getting the second chapter up the day after I posted the first chapter? I love doing fan fiction, and HATE waiting to post what I've written, so I tend to have chapters up fast! I still will probably lose power today, so no promises about when the next chapter will be up. Could be later today, could be tomorrow, or it could be a few days from now, I don't know. Hopefully sooner than later! Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

-TeddyBear98

Eddie's POV

Jerry, Milton and I had just finished school and were walking over to the dojo. We waited for Kim for a while, but she never showed, so we just assumed that she had already left, which made sense since she had free period for her last block on Fridays. We got to the strip mall and as the dojo came into view, I saw that Kim was already there. Kim was sitting on the floor next to Jack with a worried expression on her face, Rudy stood across the room from them, also looking worried, and Jack just sat there, his head down in his arms. Was everything ok? I told the guys what I saw, since they hadn't seemed to notice yet, and we ran the rest of the way up to the dojo and rushed inside. "Is everything ok?" Milton asks before I can say anything. Kim and Rudy look up at us, startled, but Jack stays in the same position. I'm not even sure if he knew we were there. Kim got up, glaring at us, and pulled the three of us out into the courtyard while Rudy went and sat next to Jack. He looked like he was making an attempt to talk to him, but Jack was completely ignoring him, not acknowledging him. Ok, now I was a little worried. What was up with Jack? I am about to ask Kim when she starts talking in a hushed tone, probably so the other people in the courtyard don't hear her. "No, everything is not ok," she says, answering Milton's question. "Jack's mother abandoned him, and he's really upset, obviously. That's all I know, so don't ask for details. I can't get him to say any more, and Rudy couldn't get him to talk at all before I came," she says. She looks very upset herself. Jack and Kim are best friends; she is probably really mad and sad at the same time knowing that Jack is so upset and that she can't do anything to help him, except for try to comfort him. We all let this sink in, not saying anything. The silence is interrupted when we hear yelling coming from the dojo. Jack is up from his spot in the corner and his screaming at Rudy, who appears to be trying to calm him down, but he is not succeeding. I can't really make out what Jack is saying, but he is obviously really angry, and tears are streaming down his face. This takes me by surprise. I have never seen Jack cry. I don't think any of us ever have. It's just so unlike Jack. I think we are all about to go inside and try and get him to calm down when he comes running out of the dojo. He avoids us and keeps running, right out of the mall. At first, none of us react, but after a second, Kim runs off in the direction that he went, yelling his name. Jerry, Milton, and I are still too busy trying to process everything that Kim just told us to be able to go after Jack. Jack's mom abandoned him . . . . I just don't understand how a parent could just leave there own child, their own flesh and blood . . . .

Jack's POV

"Jack, I understand you are feeling neglected right now, but –" Rudy had been telling me. As soon as I hear that, I jump up, angry. This is surprising to Rudy, who stands up too. "NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" I scream at him, fresh tears streaming down my face. "Jack . . ." he tries calming me. I don't give him the chance to say more. "YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND! NONE OF YOU CAN!" I run out of the dojo, past my shocked friends who had to have heard all of that, and out of the mall. I hear Kim call my name somewhere behind me. I know for a fact that she is running after me, but that knowledge just causes me to run faster. I know she cares, that she is concerned about me, that she wants to try and help me, but I don't want help right now. I just want to be left alone. I run faster, right into the woods close to my house, but I don't stop when I get there. I go deeper and deeper. I can feel myself being cut by tree branches as I go, but I push through it. When I finally stop, I find myself by a small stream. I look at my reflection in the water: I see the tear streaks on my face, the little spots where I am bleeding from the tree branches cutting me, and I just feel more sorry for myself than I did before, but I can't help it. I sit down and lean against a tree, feeling exhausted from today's events, and silently cry myself to sleep.

Kim's POV

I try keeping up with Jack, but he seems to be a lot faster than he normally is, like he didn't want to be caught, and thinking about it, he probably didn't. After a little while of running, I see him run into the woods, and that is when I lose sight of him. I search, but the woods are huge; they're miles long. If Jack didn't want to be found, there was no way I would be able to find him here, at least without help. I pull out my cell phone and call Rudy. "Kim, where are you? Did you find him?" he asks hopefully as soon as he picks up. "I'm in the woods by Jack's house, and no, I didn't find him," I say, answering his questions. "Rudy, you have to drive down here with the rest of the guys. We have to find him!" I say in a shaky voice, tears now running down my face. Like Jack, I rarely ever cry, but it's not like I didn't have a good reason. "Kim, just calm down and stay where you are. I don't want you getting lost. We'll be right there," Rudy assures me, and then hangs up. As I wait for Rudy and the rest of the guys to get here, I pull myself together. I couldn't let them see me cry. I managed to stop the tears from flowing, but I was still upset. Jack was my best friend, and right now, he was unstable, wandering around the woods alone . . . . I just hoped he was ok.

Author's Note: How did you like the second chapter? Review!