Prettyinpinkgal: (swims in huge pile of reviews) Thank you soo much everybody for your reviews! They mean so much to me :) I'm glad you guys all like the story so far and that you guys are so nice! I'm sorry about my short chapters and the tense errors. I'm lame that way lol. Gomen nasai! Anyway, disclaimers!

Disclaimer: I don't own "Tuck Everlasting". Neither the book nor the movie. So I don't think I should do autographs for things I wasn't a part of lol.

FOSTER EVERLASTING

CHAPTER THREE: HIS AND HER CIRCUMSTANCES

Jesse Tuck wandered through the streets of Russia. It'd been four years since he had last seen Winnie. She was such a perky kid, with some spunk. He wondered what she'd be like when she turned seventeen. Would she be the same? Or would her rich parents sculpt her into a "perfect" woman, one that would hardly have a thought of her own and would do whatever she was told?

'No, not Winnie. Winnie wouldn't end up being so boring. She's too rebellious to end up like that,' Jesse thought, shaking the previous thought from his head. He smiled at the memory of when they first met. She had been running away from home. If that doesn't say rebellion, nothing does. That was just one of the things he loved about her.

Not saying he was in love with a ten-year-old. That would be even weirder than living forever! He was teasing when he told her to drink it so that they could get married, but as time passed, he began to wonder what she was like as she grew up. He was in love with the older Winnie Foster; he was sure she was like she was in her younger years but taller and prettier. A blush would always burn his cheeks when he thought of her as "pretty". He used to tease Miles when he would rave about his wife when he was courting her, but now he knew what it was like to fall in love.

Jesse kicked a pebble in his way. He recalled the discussion he had with his father shortly after they left Treegap…

FLASHBACK

"Jesse, I think we have to talk," Tuck said, calling his son over. They were alone; Mae had gone shopping and Miles was searching for work. Jesse had stayed behind to help his father build what was to be his ma and pa's new home.

"Sure, okay," Jesse replied.

They sat down on the stumps of the trees they had finished cutting just a bit ago. "I…I don't think we should go back to Treegap."

Jesse gaped at his father. "…What?"

"It's for the best. Listen…" Then Tuck told him what he told Winnie; about the wheel and how life would move on. He said that if Winnie had heeded his words, she would not drink the water.

"How would you know! You wouldn't know what she decided yet!" Jesse yelled. What if Winnie did drink the water? Then she would be even more alone than he was!

END FLASHBACK

Jesse now understood. Winnie was smart. She would make her decision wisely. She wouldn't drink the water.

His love would be forever lost to the certainty of death.

"Ahh! Look out!" someone called as they bumped into him, knocking him over. "I'm so sorry, I should have been more careful," the person said as they struggled to get up. She was a girl who was seventeen, with long red hair and big eyes. She was as beautiful as he pictured Winnie to one day look.

"Nah, it's my fault. I was too busy thinking instead of looking," Jesse smiled as he helped the girl gather her things.

"Thanks," she said with a big smile. "I'm Natasha Williams." The two shook hands and walked together.

"So you're part Russian, part English. I should have known, judging by your accent," he said.

"Yes, my father used to teach me all sorts of different languages."

Jesse noticed a shadow fall on Natasha's face, and decided to switch subjects. "I'm Jesse. Jesse Tuck."

"Nice to meet you!" Natasha said with a grin. "Although I wish we had met under better circumstances than me bumping into you."

"For the last time, it was my fault." Jesse smiled bigger. Natasha would be a good friend, he could tell. Perhaps with her help, he would be able to forget about Winnie.

The next few months flew by quickly. As Natasha and Jesse grew closer, the more Winnie was forgotten to Jesse. He believed she would get married one day and forget all about him, so what was the point on holding onto something that was hopeless?

Then one day…

"Jesse!" Natasha screamed as Jesse tried to get in the buggy before Natasha caught up to him. He knew he had to leave, because it was two years since they met each other. Two years of him unchanging. Surely Natasha would put the pieces together. It was better to get out of the country before she rejected him. Then again, he hadn't seen much of a difference in how she looked to much, but that was probably just him.

Natasha grabbed onto Jesse's shirt, pulling him out of the buggy and onto the road. "Ow! Watch it!" he cried as he landed on his back.

"Jesse Tuck, I want answers! Why are you leaving without saying goodbye? That's not like you at all."

He looked at the ground. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he whispered, barely audible.

Natasha put her hands on her hips. "Oh really?" she asked, and amused look on her face. "Try me." As they got off the busy street and into a small forest nearby, Jesse continued not to tell her. "Listen," Natasha said, looking away. "If I tell you a secret about myself, will you tell me yours? I never told anyone this, even my parents. It's not exactly something I want to share, but your secret may be as big as mine if you're this reluctant to tell me." She took a big breath. 'This is it,' she thought. 'He's going to despise me.'

She looked to make sure Jesse was paying attention, and turned away. "Long ago, a girl my age and her family decided to take a trip. They decided a quaint little town would do the job. You probably never heard of it; it's called Treegap.

"Anyway, when the girl decided to take a trip in the nearby woods, she grew thirsty and found a little spring. The water didn't look dirty, and so she took a sip." Natasha looked Jesse hard in the face, while his eyes practically popped out. "That was ninety years ago. She never grew, never aged. She ran away, traveling the world.

"Jesse, I'm that girl."

Prettyinpinkgal: So that's the chappy for ya! Hope ya enjoyed it. Gotta go; please review! Thanks!