AN/Hi I'm really happy to have a new chapter up so quickly. It only took me a week this time...haha. It's a long chapter though and wasn't entirely easy to write, so I've been spending a lot of time working on it...

Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews:)

This chapter will reveal a lot of things...And it could've been called 'Jack's secrets' as well as just 'Jack's secret'. Hope you'll enjoy:)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kickin' it.

Chapter 14

Jack's secret

Panting, I arrived at Seaford high. I had hurried though town in the hopes of catching up with Jack before he would get all the way to school, but unfortunately he'd been quicker than I thought…

The schoolyard was full of people, heading towards the main entrance. There was still about fifteen minutes or so before first class would start and some students took their time to chat with one another.

I scanned the school area from the air, making sure to check every person showing up.

After flying back and forth several times, searching the yard thoroughly, I finally gave up and landed in a tree by the western side of the school building. Apparently he'd already made it inside. I sighed, wondering how in the world I would be able to get to him without anyone noticing. There were hundreds of people in there who would find it really strange for a sparrow to deliver a piece of paper to a boy just like that…

Trying to come up with a plan, I suddenly noticed something moving in the bushes that were growing along the wall of the building. Something blue that looked a lot like the sweater Jack had put on to wear to school this morning. I squinted my eyes trying to see through the foliage as the figure made it along the wall, moving away from the main entrance, careful to stay hidden for any human eyes.

By now I was sure the figure was a person and I had hunch it was Jack. Deciding not to do anything yet I just watched as they made it around the corner.

I immediately flew after, keeping track of them. The figure popped its head up, a few leaves and a twig having got stuck in the wavy brown hair. Carefully they looked around to be sure no one was there and as they turned my way I instantly recognized the face.

Wondering what on earth he was doing, I flew down to meet him. Jack's eyes widened and he jerked slightly as he spotted me coming towards him, his senses on high alert.

"Bucky?" he whispered. "What are you doing here?" I hovered in the air right in front of his face, holding up the folded worksheet. The boy frowned in confusion, but reached out to grab it. "What's this?" I took a seat on his shoulder as he started to unfold it. It only took him a second or two to realize what it was, but it took him a moment longer to grasp the fact that I'd flown through the entire town of Seaford to bring it to him. He glanced at me, where I was sitting on his shoulder.

"Thanks," he said, keeping his voice down. "You're the best Bucky."

I brought my chest out a little, feeling pretty proud of what I'd accomplished. The boy smiled at me and put the worksheet in his backpack.

"Okay Bucky I need to get going…" he mumbled and let his bag down on the ground, making sure that it was safely hidden in the bush.

"Tsipti tsip," I tweeted wondering what he was up to. The teen shot me another glance.

"You can come with me if you promise to keep quiet," he said. I nodded which made him smile. "Okay, keep an eye out for me, will ya…?" He suddenly burst out of the vegetation, running up to a steel fire ladder placed on the outside of the building and before I was able to comprehend what was going on he'd already made it to the second floor. From there he jumped, reaching out for a window ledge about four feet away, almost giving me a heart attack.

He grabbed it with ease, being the athletic person that he was. Hanging in just one hand he used his other to open the window, which by some reason hadn't been fully closed. The certain and smooth way in which he moved as he opened up the window and heaved himself up to climb inside, told me that this wasn't the first time he'd done this…

I was pretty sure that he wasn't allowed to do this though and I shot a glance down the yard, worried that someone might see us. To my relief no one seemed to be around.

When I looked up at Jack again he was already halfway inside. I hurried in with him before he closed the window behind us. Jack held up a finger to his lips, indicating for me to be quiet. His brown orbs scanned the classroom.

Remembering last week when we had caught him stealing from Miss Applebaum, I had a hunch about what he was about to do. I just didn't wanna believe it. I didn't want to think about Jack as a thief.

Disappointment filled my chest as I watched him run over to the teacher's desk. Jack had only one thing in mind it seemed as he grabbed the purse that was placed on the floor behind the furniture. I was surprised that someone had left the purse there, but even more I was surprised that Jack would ever consider stealing again…

My conscience started to nag me and I felt that I had to do something before this went too far. Flying over to him I grabbed some of his hair and pulled on it –hard. The thought that a small bird like me would be able to stop someone like Jack by physically trying to pull him away was absurd. Still I was desperate enough to attempt it. I couldn't let him do this.

Jack didn't budge one inch, but he felt the stinging feeling in his scalp caused by me and he snapped his head around.

"Auch! Bucky!" He whisper-yelled, furring his eyebrows in annoyance. "What are you doing?!" It was the first time that he ever sounded a bit angry with me since I became a bird and I cringed slightly, letting go of his hair. I didn't like the thought of getting into a conflict with him and I retreated. When it looked like I wouldn't do that again, Jack got back to the purse, opening it.

I dove down though and landed on the back of his hand that was already halfway down the purse, deciding to give it another go. Waving my wings back and forth in front of me in a gesture for him to stop and shaking my head vigorously, I caught his attention. He stalled in his movements, getting what I meant. His eyes softened and a small sigh escaped his lips.

"Look, I know this is wrong Bucky," he started. "And I wished I wouldn't have to, but I can't go out looking like this. You have to understand. Please."

Confused and slightly stunned by what he'd said as he looked down at me with pleading eyes, I unconsciously stepped aside.

"Thanks," he whispered and continued to go through the purse. I just watched in silence, trying to make sense of his words. What was he after and why couldn't he show himself the way he looked? He looked just like he always looks. Or did he?

I glanced at his still bruised face and the answer to my question hit me the same moment he pulled out a small container of foundation from the purse.

I didn't know what to feel as Jack applied the make-up to his face with almost as much accuracy as if a woman would've done it. He took just enough to cover the marks left by his father before putting the foundation back, making sure to not leave any traces.

"C'mon Bucky," he waved at me to come along as he headed back for the window. Climbing through it just as easily as earlier, he hung himself from the ledge again to close it with his free hand. I snuck out just before he would push the window closed.

Using his well-built arm muscles he got his body to swing back and forth sideways along the wall. When reaching enough speed and height he let go of the ledge, flying through the air towards the steel staircase. Groaning from the endeavour, he grabbed a hold of the rail, catching himself before he would fall to the ground.

I was impressed by the way he made it look so easy. That Jack was a skilled athlete and a great martial artist was well-known, I just hadn't expected him to be that good…

~~~~Wings of Love~~~~

I was sitting in a tree just outside the school building, watching as herds of students were coming out the doors. My head had been filled with thoughts about Jack and what had happened earlier this morning. Stealing was wrong, but I could understand him and I didn't blame him. The only one there was to blame was Mr Brewer. I clenched my beak. Just thinking about him made me so mad I trembled.

Jack had risked a lot to get to that make-up, desperate to hide what had been done to him.

I couldn't answer why he didn't want anyone to know or why he didn't ask for help. In a way it almost seemed as if he was trying to protect his father -a man that in my opinion didn't deserve to have a son. Especially not a son like Jack…

I shook my head, clearing my mind. I needed to tell the boy what was going on. I needed his help to become human again, so that I in return could help him…

School was finally out for today and Jack would be available again. Frankly, I couldn't do anything without him and the day had seemed endless as I'd waited out on the schoolyard for hours.

The brunette appeared. He was unlike most of the students walking alone. I noticed a bunch of juniors giving him long glances as he passed by. They started whispering things as soon as they thought he couldn't hear them, making me figure that they were talking about him. I didn't know if Jack caught any of it or not. He didn't seem like to have done it as he kept walking across the schoolyard. I flew down and landed on a bench so that it would be easier for him to see me.

He spotted me almost immediately. Smiling, he hurried over to me.

"Hey Bucky. I didn't think you would wait for me that long."

I whistled in response, happy to see him again. Spreading my wings I was about to fly up to his shoulder when something caught my attention. I could still see the entry to the school behind Jack, people continuing to emerge from it.

A blond girl my age, wearing my red sweater and my favourite pair of jeans came into view. I'd known when I flew here that the chances were pretty big of seeing her, still she caught me by surprise and I couldn't help but to stare at her. It was so surreal to see myself like that, knowing that it wasn't really me that I was looking at…

Jack frowned at the way I'd suddenly frozen. Following my gaze he quickly found what I was looking at. He smiled a little, having his own idea of what was going on inside my head. But of course he had no clue…

"Pretty isn't she?" he said as he studied the blond girl that used to me.

Wait, what?! I nearly fell over backwards at what he'd said. Did I hear him correct? Did he just say I was pretty?

The butterflies that had started to visit me more frequently the last couple of days came back with full force. Jack didn't notice anything of course, his eyes still lingering on her as she took a turn to disappear down the street towards my home.

"You wanna know a funny story?" he asked, deciding to change the subject. "Back in Washington when I was about five years old I went through an old box of documents and stuff that belonged to my dad. It was from his teenage years. But I didn't really care about that at that time. All I wanted was a piece of paper to draw on…but I found something else…" He threw me a quick glance as if to make sure that I was listening. "In one of his notebooks I found a picture of an old painting… A painting of a girl. She wore a simple dark coloured dress and her hair was really long, like going all the way down to her waist. It was slightly wavy and blond and I almost believed that it was made out of gold…"

"Now at five years old girls weren't exactly among my top interests…" His mouth formed into a smile at the memories. "But that girl was something special. It didn't matter to me that she was a painting made over hundreds of years ago. I think that it only made my imagination run off even more. I was convinced that she was a princess…" he chuckled. "Even though she wore clothes that would mark her as a peasant I couldn't believe that she was. I came up with the idea of her being a princess in disguise or that she'd been taken away and forced to live in poverty. She was just too beautiful to not be of royal blood in my -still very young- mind."

"I took the picture and went to ask my dad about it," Jack made a pause, his mind filled with images of his past. "He was different back then… Everything was different."

I found myself all wrapt up in the story, listening to every word that he said. Once again I got the feeling of something having happened to the Brewers in their past. But this time I had a hunch that it might had something to do with Danielle and the condition she was in. I wasn't sure though. All I knew was that the memories did cause the boy pain. I could see it in his eyes.

"Dad told me that the girl on the picture had lived for over two hundred years ago. She was part of an ancient legend. A legend that held this entire town of Seaford cursed." Jack stopped to pick up his phone all of a sudden while I had frozen. The words 'legend', 'curse' and 'Seaford' all together made me realize what he was talking about. The legend was more than just a legend though… It was very much real.

I was unsure if Jack knew that though… My interest having been awakened, I flew up and landed on his shoulder watching him as he went through his album on his phone.

"I've got a picture of her here somewhere…" he mumbled and sat down on the bench before continuing with his story. "Dad said that the legend tells that she'll return one day to break the curse and to stop dark forces from taking over the world. You can only imagine how intriguing the story was for a five year old kid." He shook his head slightly, smiling. "I used to run around our backyard, imagining that I was a knight, rescuing her from her imprisonment and together we'd save the world…" I noticed Jack blushing even though he was looking down at his phone, letting his hair fall around his face to hide his red cheeks. Smiling, I realized that he must've had a crush on her and maybe still had… I found it cute -at least that's what I was trying to convince myself... A new feeling had been brought to life inside me though. A feeling I did my best to ignore, but still it stung my heart a little -Jealousy.

"Apparently her name was Gabriella," Jack said. I instantly sprung alert by the mention of her name. She'd been mentioned in the curse and the letter I'd read in Mr Brewer's office. It must be the same person. I found it pretty confusing though, the documents had spoken about Gabriella's doom…but Mr Brewer had told Jack that she would return as if she was still alive… Could it be possible that she might resurrect?

I leaned forward, trying to get a better view of the phone. I felt that Gabriella could possibly be a major clue in all of this and I waited excitedly for Jack to show me the picture. Nothing could've prepared me for what I saw though…

"Oh, here it is…" Jack said, tilting the phone slightly so it would be easier for me to see it. The blond girl was painted in oil and probably not as accurate as a photo would've been, but I still recognized her. In fact looking at her was like looking into a mirror. If I hadn't known better I would've said that the girl on the picture was me. My beak dropped opened as I tried to comprehend what I saw.

"Weird, I know…" Jack said, noticing my reaction. "Can you imagine the shock I got when I moved her just to find out that the girl I'd spent my childhood making up stories about was real?"

I was unable to do anything but to stare at the screen, as Jack continued; speaking a bit quieter than before to make sure that no one else walking by would be able to hear what he said.

"I found her even more beautiful in real life…and I was suddenly back to dreaming about her." Jack's cheeks had turned into a deeper shade of red, probably not very far from the shade my own cheeks had, hidden under the layer of feathers that covered my face. "At first I barely dared to look at her, but at the same time it was almost impossible for me not to… When I joined the dojo about a week after we moved here I found out that she was practising karate there too. She was into the one thing that I loved to do most in the world, how cool isn't that?" he smiled and put the phone back into his pocket. "We got along pretty good in the beginning and I… I started…" He began to fidget with his hands and I figured that whatever he had on his mind he had a hard time telling me. I watched him curiously, wondering what he was trying to say. He was looking down at the ground, avoiding eye contact as he took a deep breath before continuing;

"…I started to develop some real feelings for her."

Oh my gosh! I felt my heart skip a beat and my legs got all weak beneath me as the whole world started spinning. The Jack Brewer had just said he'd had a crush on me… Jack had had a crush on ME!

The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy and I barely was able to concentrate on what Jack was saying.

"She never really liked me though," he shrugged, trying to act as if he didn't care, although I could see that he did. "…and I doubt that she will ever talk to me again. Not after I threw that plant on her last time I saw her…" he smiled bitterly. I shook my head, coming out of my state of shock. Shooting him a glance, I remembered very vivid how angry I'd been at him for throwing that. And how angry Mr Brewer had been…

I shuddered at the thought of what he'd possibly done to Jack after that.

Watching the teenager, it was hard to believe that he was the same boy that had acted all childish and stupid that day outside the dojo…

"Of course I didn't mean to hit her," he shook his head, making me frown in confusion. He didn't? "I was aiming for dad…I've never been much of a thrower and I guess I panicked…" He let out a chuckle as to lighten up the atmosphere.

"Don't get me wrong, I loved my father during my entire childhood and a part of me loves him still…It's just that…" He grew silent as he trailed of in thoughts, reliving his memories. Focusing his eyes on a few strands of grass reaching up towards the sun from a crack in the pavement, he sighed.

"Shortly after we moved here dad rejoined that 'Fireguard thing' and he…changed…It's like he doesn't trust me anymore." Jack shifted in his seat. "All of a sudden he started to keep secrets from me. He stopped talking to me like he'd used to. He would lock himself in his office for hours and went to assemblies, refusing to let me know what they were about. The old box with documents and that picture I'd gone through so many times as a kid was suddenly off limits." He got silent again. Bringing his right hand up to grab his left elbow, he hugged himself comforting, the memories clearly being uncomfortable for him.

"Tsiiips," I sang softly, reminding him that he wasn't alone and urging him to continue.

"One day," he started. "I remember Kim and I were talking at lunch. We were planning a big surprise party for Rudy- our sensei." He explained. There was no need to though. I already knew who Rudy was and I remembered that day perfectly…

Jack and I had been talking in school, planning on going on a small shopping trip through the mall after practise to get all the supplies we'd need to throw a party. We'd been at a point that day where I'd felt that we were starting to become real friends and I'd been really excited, having seen it as a chance to get to know him better.

But Jack never showed up to practise that day. He didn't come afterwards either, leaving me hanging. To say that I had been disappointed was an understatement.

Next day in school I'd tried to confront him about it. He'd done everything that he could to avoid me and when I finally got to him by the end of the day; he'd refused to give me an explanation. I hadn't given up so easily though and the entire thing had escalated into a fight, ending up with Jack yelling that he didn't care about some stupid birthday party…

From there things just had gotten worse between us and the crush I'd had on him slowly died and was replaced with annoyance and a feeling close to hatred towards him.

I didn't feel that anger around him anymore now as I sat on his shoulder, waiting for him to tell his version of the story. Again his explanation was nothing like I'd expected.

"We would meet after practise, Kim and I." Jack said. "Man, I was excited to get to practice that day. I almost felt as if I would be going on a date, even though I knew it really wasn't." A faint smile made it to his lips. "Just the thought of be spending some time with her alone, made it feel as if I were walking on clouds…"

The smile suddenly disappeared from his face.

"I packed my GI and made myself ready to leave early that afternoon. But before I left I went to my father's office to let him know that I would be off to the dojo… When I got there I found the room empty… I knew that he couldn't be far away since he'd left a bunch of document up on the desk that he apparently was working on. I looked at them out of curiosity. I didn't mean anything…" He shook his head and gave his arm another squeeze.

"The old picture of Gabriella was lying on top and I stopped just to admire her beauty for a moment and to once again get struck by the way Kim resembled her. There was a note next to the picture that caught my attention though, a list of names to be more exact, written by my father's hand. The name 'Gabriella' was at the top along with her date of birth. I think that's what got me to read down the rest… I'm pretty sure there were nine names all together…" Jack wrinkled his forehead, trying to remember. My thoughts immediately went to the list of victims I'd found in Claire's notebook. They'd also been nine, but I was sure that Gabriella had not been among them, so it couldn't be the same list…

"Anyway," the boy continued. "The last name on the list was 'Kimberly'." A suffocating feeling suddenly grabbed a hold of my chest. Mr Brewer had my name in his notes long before any of this happened. I truly had been destined to end up in all this mess…

"I knew that Kim's real name was Kimberly and adding the fact that she looks exactly like Gabriella, I was sure that it was her. This got me really confused but at the same time I found it very interesting and when dad returned to his office a minute later I asked him about the list and he… totally flipped…" He made a pause and I could feel my heart sink, already knowing where this was going.

"That was the first time he ever beat me…" Jack's voice had gotten quieter. "He yelled all kinds of horrible things to me as he practically dragged me out of his office and up to my room. I was completely shocked, unable to do anything more than watch as he closed and locked the door, leaving me trapped inside. Never in my life had I believed that he would be capable of doing something like that." Jack swallowed, looking up from the ground just to stare at the school building instead. "I remember I was shaking so bad, I almost felt sick and I had to lie down on my bed. My body was aching after the rough treatment and as the worst shock began to let go of me I stated to cry…"

I moved closer to his neck, leaning against it with intentions to comfort him. I wished that I had known about this before I became a bird. I could've been there for him…

"Dad came back after a few hours…He was remorseful. Apologizing to me, he said he didn't know what had gotten into him and he asked for my forgiveness. He promised me that he would never do something like that ever again. A promise that he apparently couldn't keep…" He inhaled, trying to keep the emotions that the subject was stirring up inside of him under control.

"Next day Kim asked me why I hadn't showed up. I couldn't give her an answer. I didn't wanna lie to her, but there was no way that I could tell her what really happened. She got mad at me and I didn't know how to deal with it… As time passed; things just got worse. We barely ever speak to each other now and if she ever cares to say anything to me it's always something mean…I'm used to take a lot, but she always seems to know how to say things in a way that hurts the most." I cringed at his words, hanging my head, the shame weighing heavy on my shoulders. Jack was right. I had said a lot of mean things to him, and worse yet; I'd done it on purpose, wanting to get back on him for things he'd never meant to do in the first place.

"Maybe it's because I want her to like me so bad, it hurts so much when she says or do things like that…" he said, before shaking his head. "I don't know why I care about her anymore really. I mean, all she cares about is herself. She's not nice at all and she always puts me into trouble…At the last tournament she took my phone. She knew fully well that I don't let anyone near that thing, since it's full of texts from dad that would tell what's going on in our home…When I saw her having the phone I became distracted of course, fearing that she'd might see some of them or worse yet; the picture of Gabriella. She would think it was a picture of her and might figure out that I liked her…I lost the match, which would make dad disappointed. He has always taken my karate very seriously and I knew he would not be pleased with the outcome of it. Kim on the other hand was obviously very satisfied with the way that she'd caused me to lose, which made me furious, knowing what was awaiting me when we got back home. I was so angry and scared that I didn't know what to do and I shoved her, regretting it at the same moment I did…"

The more he told me the worse I felt and it had now reached a point where I felt almost sick. How could I have been so blind to not see what was going on?

"When we returned home dad beat me up for the loss as expected, and thanks to my outburst on Kim he got even more violent than usual... I swear, I thought he broke my leg… He couldn't take me to a hospital, afraid that someone would add two and two together and figure out what was going on. The day after I could barely walk and he let me stay at home…"

I swallowed down the taste of bile in my mouth. I felt sick for real now, disgusted by my own actions and thoughts.

"It's insane how she can drive me crazy... I've even been this close to hit her once." He held up his hand, his thumb and index finger about an inch from each other to show me just how close he'd been. I knew he was referring to that incident in the dojo where he'd almost punched me in the face, but stopped himself at the last second as Mr Brewer had burst through the doors.

Jack shook his head.

"Of course I wouldn't have been able to do it…but the thought that I'd come so close as to raising my fist really scared me." He suddenly covered his face with his hands, rubbing it while letting out a big sigh.

"This last week has been crazy. From time to time I've told myself that it's a good thing that me and Kim don't get along, since it's been much easier to keep her apart from dad… Ever since that day in the office I've dreaded of what might happen if he finds out that Kimberly really goes in my class. I've never mention her to him and I've done everything that I could to keep them separated. I don't know what he's doing or why he keeps notes and facts about her. All I know is that he's crazy enough to beat his own son up for having accidentally gotten a glimpse of his work…Just the thought of what he could do to her…"

He shuddered slightly underneath me and I pressed myself closer to him. I can't believe after all the crap I'd been putting him through he still wanted to protect me. He still cared about me in a way I'd never cared for him. Frankly I don't think I'd ever cared so about anybody the way he did.

"Last week dad finally noticed Kim for real. When he came to school to pick me up he recognized her. And just as I'd feared he started to talk to her about the Brotherhood…"

His hand found its way up to me and carefully wrapt itself around my tiny body, just holding it there.

"I've never told anybody about any of this before," he said. I whistled, showing him my support, which made him smile. "I guess you're the first one who ever cared to listen."

I looked down, my small body was trembling and there was a lump in my throat as mixed feelings taking over my heart. I was happy that I'd been given the privilege to have heard his story and for him to have someone to share it with. But at the same time I felt awful, knowing that if it hadn't been for the fact that I'd been sent into a bird and practically forced to hang out with him I would never had listen either. I would've been just like every one else and I would never have given him a chance…

His story had had an effect on me that had shaken me deeply, and it had been one of the biggest wake up call I'd ever experienced.

Jack turned his head. His eyes widened suddenly and his whole body tensed.

"We better get going," he said, hurrying to stand up and grab his back pack, swinging it over his shoulder. I was startled by his movements and lost my balance. Flapping my wings, I lifted up into the air and looked around in confusion just to see the entire baseball team coming in our direction with Grace's brother Roy in the lead. They were already very close and their eyes were all focusing on the boy with the chocolate coloured hair. Fear struck me as I realized what was about to happen.

Jack turned away from them and was just about to go when suddenly a boy I recognized as Adam sprinted forward and grabbed his backpack, stopping him.

"Hey, why in such a hurry?"

Another cliffy...hehe:P Hope you liked the chapter anyway. As I said a lot of things got revealed in this chapter, BUT there are still a few things left about Jack and his past that are still unknown...

OK, so I don't know how long it'll take before I'll be able to get the next chapter up. All I know is that reviews help to make me write faster;P Or at least they motivate me:) Anyway if I get 15 or more I think that I might be able to get the next chapter up before this week ends. I don't really have time, but I will make sure to take every opportunity that I get to write if you really want me to.

See you next time:)

/MJ