Guess what, guys? We're getting to the good part... woo-hoo! I've never made it this far in any type of story, so needless to say I'm pretty proud of myself. *does happy dance.* Also, for a couple people have been asking for the presence of a certain character- I genuinely was not expecting such a thing to occur in this chapter. I'm not gonna say it did and I'm not gonna say it didn't, though. Just read on. :D

Thanks for all the reviews, as always. You guys are awesome. Now, on with the chapter!

Chapter Eleven

West 65th and Columbus

"Tell me again why we're doin' this, Jack?" Tommy demanded. "It's startin' to get cold out an' yer wastin' yer time."

It was as though Jack didn't even here him. He just continued to walk down the street, a few steps ahead of Fabrizio with Tommy trailing even farther behind. He hadn't thought about the repercussions of his actions the night before, but looking back on it now, it had been a stupid idea. He had probably gotten Rose into a lot of trouble, and he really regretted it. If Cal had found out, she'd probably never be allowed to see him again. That was why Jack had enlisted the help of Tommy and Fabrizio to go and find Rose. He had to talk to her. He had to tell her he was sorry for ruining her life. He had to see her again- at least once more.

"You don't know Rose," he said over his shoulder. "She's not like them!"

"He's not bein' logical I tell ya!" Tommy said to Fabrizio, sounding exasperated. The Italian just shook his head, as though he didn't understand how someone could be so clueless.

"Amore is'a not logical," he replied, laughing a little bit.

"Thank you, Fabri," Jack said, not looking back at his friends. They were only about a block and a half away from Rose's school. He didn't have time to humour their petty debate.

Jack didn't really have a plan as to what he was going to do when they got there. The school probably had an office or something where he could get the secretary to page Rose or whatever it was they get paid to do. He didn't care, really. He just had to talk to her, no matter what the cost.

"Jack, I'm tellin' ya so yer not disappointed," Tommy began again. "First of all, there's no way in Hell they're gonna let three guys like us talk to 'er while she's in school, alright? And besides, she's outta your league."

Jack would have preferred to just ignore Tommy's negativity. After all, it wasn't like he couldn't understand his position- why in the world would a girl like Rose care about a guy like him? But she did and that was what mattered. Tommy didn't have to believe him; he'd see. Something in the Irishman's words must have set Fabrizio off, though (well, as much as a perpetually happy guy like him could be set off), because he wheeled around and looked Tommy straight in the eye as he spoke.

"If Jack is in love with la bella Rosa, then why should he no go and find her? And Rosa is in love with Jack also! It no matter about the money. Like I say, amore is'a not logical!"

Jack couldn't help but smile at his best friend's joyous innocence. The idea that someone could be as smart and self reliant as Fabrizio was, but still so perpetually optimistic always renewed his faith in the human race. Such a pick-me-up was just what he needed, too, as he stopped in front of the grand doors of York Preparatory School.

To be frank, he wasn't even one hundred percent sure that this was where Rose went to school. He knew however, that it was the best private school in New York City – the kind that Ruth DeWitt Bukater would love to put her daughter in – and that Rose had come from its general direction the day before in Central Park. Besides that, it was really his only option. Better to try and fail than never to try at all, right?

"Alright, boys," he said, gathering his composure. "This is it."

The building itself was intimidating. Heck, the doors were intimidating! Jack tried to open them as inconspicuously as he could. Once inside, the guys found themselves to be standing in and atrium with a winding staircase in the middle. There were two hallways on both sides of the stairs, each with their own name. Jack hadn't set foot inside a school in five years, but this is not how he remembered them. The detailing on the walls was ornate and looked almost as though it was from the Renaissance era. If there was a school in the world that was made for Rose's type of people, it was this one.

To his right there were three rooms that had separate doors but appeared to all be connected inside. Signs by the doors told him that they were the main office, the attendance office, and the vice principal's office. He vaguely remembered what each one of those meant, and decided that the main office was probably the place to be if you wanted to talk to somebody. Without saying a word, Jack opened the door and his friends followed behind him.

Behind a desk sat a middle-aged woman wearing glasses from the eighties and far too much make-up. She was typing away at her computer and ignoring the fact that there were people standing in front of her desk. After about a minute and a half, Jack cleared his throat, hoping to draw her attention away from the screen and up to him.

"How can I help you?" she asked, as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

"Umm..." Jack began, gathering his courage, "can- can I speak with Rose DeWitt Bukater, please?" He really hoped that was the right thing to say.

The secretary cocked one eyebrow and stared at the three mismatched men standing before her, evidently puzzled.

"Is one of you her parent or legal guardian?" she asked sceptically, as though she already knew the answer.

What was Jack supposed to say to that? He could hardly lie- the eldest of them was Tommy, and he himself was only ten or fifteen years older than Rose at the very most.

"Well, no," he said, "but you see, ma'am, I met Miss DeWitt Bukater a few days ago and-"

"Only parents or guardians are allowed to speak with students during school hours," the secretary said, no longer looking up at them but typing away furiously. She had evidently rehearsed this little speech many a time.

Jack was desperate now. He looked first at Tommy, who rolled his eyes as if to say 'I told you so,' then at Fabri, who just shrugged and smiled sheepishly. It was great that he believed in fate and true love and all, but he evidently didn't understand how anguished Jack was becoming.

"Look," he explained to the secretary, who still didn't look up at him, "I know that this isn't really allowed, but it's sort of an emergency. I need to speak with Miss DeWitt Bukater as soon as possible."

The secretary rolled her eyes, turned away from her computer and placed her glasses on top of her head, clearly understanding now that Jack wasn't about to give up without a fight.

"Look, kid," she said, sounding tired, "I don't know what you want, okay? I can't pull this girl outta class unless a parent or guardian is asking for her, but I can tell you that the kids get their lunch at 11:45, so you got half an hour to wait. That sound okay to you?"

Jack sighed, defeated but hopeful. He thanked the secretary half-heartedly and made his way back outside, Tommy and Fabri trailing a bit behind him. Outside, the sun was shining, but the cold wind of autumn was starting to crawl into New York City. Leaves were changing colour, the sun was setting earlier, less people were out and about; times were changing, as they always did. Nothing really hung around forever.

Tommy and Fabrizio were leaning up against the doors of the school, both looking at Jack expectantly. Now that he thought about it, he was kind of hoping to talk to Rose alone. He looked at his friends for a moment, hoping they might realize this. When they said nothing, he had to sort of push them along.

"Okay guys," he said. "We've got another half hour. You guys don't want to wait around, do you?"

"Whatever you are 'a doing, I am 'a doing!" Fabrizio said, which really didn't help Jack at all. "I am excited to meet la bella Rosa again!"

Jack wasn't exactly upset about his pal's enthusiasm- after all, as soon as he explained his desire to speak to Rose privately, he knew Fabri would understand. What upset him was the fact that if Fabrizio truly understood how much Rose meant to him and how fragile their situation was, he wouldn't be half as excited as he was. It was very difficult to be in his position- Tommy didn't have anything encouraging to say, while Fabrizio didn't understand that this whole thing might not work out the way they wanted it to. Knowing that even his friends didn't understand his situation made Jack feel completely and utterly alone. He felt like the one thing he had in the world, the one person whom he was destined to be with for all of eternity, was slowly slipping out of his grasp.

"Look, guys," he said, "I know you wanna see Rose again, and I understand. But I need to talk to Rose in private when she comes out. Can you understand that?"

Tommy, of course, didn't say anything. For a long time, Fabrizio was silent too. Slowly, ever so slowly, a huge smile spread across his face.

"Mio amico, you are truly in love!" Fabrizio wrapped his arms around his friend, causing Jack to do something of a double take. "Every time when are young boys, Jack always say to me, 'Come, Fabri, come with me to meet this girl,' and now he is saying no, I talk to this girl in private. Jack, seite in amore con la bella Rosa!"

Jack couldn't see very well because Fabri was blocking his line of sight, but he heard Tommy say, in his thick Irish lilt, "This is gettin' ridiculous!"

He didn't even have to try to ignore him- he was in such a good mood all of a sudden. It was true, wasn't it? He was in love with Rose- really and truly in love with her. He was in love with a beautiful woman and he had his best friend in the world always standing right behind him. What more could he possibly ask for? He was so lucky- hopefully lucky enough to be able to spend the rest of his life with Rose. Why wouldn't he be, after all?

"Yeah," he said, letting go of Fabrizio's tight embrace. "Yeah, I am, aren't I?"

Fabrizio's smile still reached his eyes as he said, "Okay. Tommy and me, we go find something to do while you wait for bella Rosa. But you tell us all about it, no?"

"Yeah," Jack said happily. "I will."

He waved as his friends walked away, Fabrizio talking amicably to Tommy, who was completely exasperated with the other men's actions. Jack still had twenty-five minutes to kill and no idea how he was going to do it. The buildings around the school included a doctor's office, a synagogue, and a dentist's office- in other words, not much for Jack to do. It isn't very hard to keep yourself busy in New York City though- just people watching can keep you occupied for hours.

Like then, for example. From where he stood a few yards away from Rose's school, he could easily see Central Park. Right now, there was some homeless druggy trying his hardest to get some money from a pair of teen girls. In all honesty, it really wasn't funny- he could easily hurt those girls- but Jack couldn't help but laugh. Only in NYC.

He watched the exchange between the druggy and the girls for a few minutes, but it eventually grew tiresome. From what he could see, the girls didn't have any money on them, and the guy wasn't about to give up any time soon.

Sighing heavily, Jack checked his watch. 11:32. Thirteen more minutes. Sticking his hands deep into his pockets, he kicked at a small grey stone that lay at his feet. What if he could never see Rose again? If her mother forbade it, it wasn't like her could expect her to do otherwise. Hell, he'd only met Ruth once, and he was scared of her already! He could only imagine what it would be like to live with her. As much as it would hurt him not to be able to see his precious Rose ever again, he knew it was a possibility and that he was going to have to get into the right frame of mind. He had to be able to understand where she was coming from. He had to tell himself to be strong, if he didn't want to hurt Rose; to make her feel worse than she already would.

The last five minutes before the bell rang passed horrendously slowly. Jack glanced at his watch every three seconds, each time feeling that at least four and a half minutes must have gone by since the last time. He had to see her... he had to be near her. Just when it felt as though he couldn't wait any longer, a bell sounded inside the building. He only faintly heard it, but hear it he did. Students slowly started to trickle out the front doors. If it had been an ordinary day, Jack probably would have felt a slight pang of nostalgia and longing for the things he'd had during his childhood. It wasn't an ordinary day, though.

Finally, after what felt like a thousand years, Jack recognized Rose's bright shock of hair walking next to a slightly taller girl with black hair pulled back in a French braid. The girls were dressed identically in school uniforms- plaid skorts, white blouses and school sweaters. He approached the pair hoping to go as unnoticed as possible by the rest of the student body.

"Rose!" he said, as quietly as possible.

She mustn't have heard him, because she and her friend continued walking.

"Hey, Rose!" he called out, louder this time. She still didn't look up. Her friend did, however, and poked Rose in the side, stopping her in her tracks. The dark-haired girl pointed at Jack and whispered something in Rose's ear, giggling girlishly. Rose said something to her friend, looking apologetic, then made her way over to where Jack was standing.

"Jack," she said, sounding very tired, "I'm-"

"Shhh," Jack whispered, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her along with him, much like he had done the night before. Once they were well away from the school, Jack pulled her up next to a wall and let go of her hand.

"Jack, this is impossible," she said, not even giving him a chance to speak. "I can't see you."

With that, all of Jack's well-thought-out plans about how he would handle such a situation were gone with the wind. How could she say such a thing? No apology, no tears, no heartfelt explanation about the death threats her mother had put her under. How could she?

"Rose," he pleaded, grabbing her by the shoulders, "you're no picnic. You're a spoiled brat, even, but under that you're a strong, pure heart and you're the most astoundingly amazing girl I've ever known and-"

"Jack, I-"

"No, wait," he said, not caring that he was totally cutting her off, "Lemme try to get this out. You're amazing. I'm not stupid, okay? I have nothing to offer you- I've got ten bucks in my pocket and nothing else in the world, Rose. I know that. But I'm involved now. You jump, I jump, right? I can't turn away without knowin' that you're gonna be alright."

Jack could see that Rose was now holding back tears. This must hurt her just as much as it hurts if, if that was in any way possible. As he felt his own heart breaking, he knew that hers was doing the same, and yet she was hiding it- pretending that it wasn't happening. God, she was so strong.

"You're making this very hard," she said, swallowing the lump that was developing in her throat. "I'm fine. Really."

She obviously wasn't fine. If she was fine, Jack wouldn't have had to save her from jumping off the goddamn Brooklyn Bridge!

"I don't think so, Rose," he said, getting frustrated now. "They've got you in a glass jar like some butterfly and you're gonna die if you don't break free! Maybe not right away, cause you're strong. But sooner or later, that fire's gonna go out."

Instantly, Jack could tell he'd hit a nerve. He'd said what Rose herself had been thinking for years. For the first time, the pain in her eyes was not covered or hidden. It was raw- raw and open and just waiting for someone to fix it; to take it all away. And yet here she was, walking away from the only opportunity she might ever have to truly be free.

"It's not up to you to save me, Jack," she said, but her voice sounded as though she was already beyond saving.

"You're right," Jack said, utterly defeated. "Only you can do that."

He could see it in her eyes- she knew, deep down inside, that he was right. He could chase her all he wanted, but he couldn't make her go with him. Her life was hers to change, and she was the only one to decide whether or not she ever became free from the tangled web of a life that others had woven for her. But that would be a responsibility. That would mean living with the consequences of her actions; something she'd never had to do before. Something she wasn't sure she could do.

Sighing and looking as though she was ready to bawl, Rose said, "I have to go- my friends will miss me. Please, Jack, for both our sakes, leave me alone."

With that, Rose turned on her heels and calmly walked away- out of his life forever.

Jack had heard some pretty awful things before. He'd heard the police tell him that his house had burned down and that his parents were dead. He'd heard people tell him that he'd never be worth anything; that he'd made all the wrong choices and that his future was absolutely hopeless. Despite all of that, he'd never heard anything more bitter or painful than what Rose had just said to him.

With those three little words, the only person he'd been able to fully love and trust in the last five years had broken his heart. Rose had been everything to him, and now she was gone.