"it's crazy, don't ya think?" crutchie was saying to jack as they pushed open the door to jacobi's deli. his eyes glanced at the alley to the left of the building, where barriers had blocked off the entrance so the investigation wouldn't be tampered with. "that there's—y'know—people out there still fightin' for the cause."

"more power to 'em," jack said, immediately followed by countless voices calling out their names in welcome.

the group of boys sitting around the tables greeted their two friends as they found seats, and they gradually fell into several different conversations. to be honest, jack was fine with that. he didn't want to talk about the news of the looking glasses. something about it didn't sit right with him.

"have you guys heard?" a familiar voice called out, and jack turned away from specs to find darcy entering with a newspaper in hand. "there was another case related to the looking glasses in brooklyn."

"what's the news?" romeo asked, leaning his elbows into his knees.

"it's the same thing that happened here," darcy told them. "and it happened on washington avenue right by prospect park. how is it they do that? they do this on a busy street and no one catches them?"

"they's smart about their movement is all," race said, snatching the paper from davey and reading through it. "can't help but be impressed. ain't that right, jack?"

"they're stupid, that's what," jack said, slouching in his chair. "too many died and got themselves arrested when they first started that movement." he gave a soft sigh before grunting, "don't get me wrong, though; i'm all for it."

davey quickly shot jack a look before glancing around the deli to ensure no one had heard his comment. "talk like that will get you in trouble, jack," he warned quietly.

"ain't that the goal?" jack rebuked, causing race to chuckle.

"they's resurfacin'," race said, "and boy am i excited to see what they do."

"let's see if they's successful this time," crutchie said with a soft chuckle, his words earning amused snickers out of some of the other boys.

"still," davey continued, leaning against the nearest table, "it could be dangerous."

"ain't we already livin' dangerously?" albert remarked, and everyone knew he was hinting towards the fact that none of them except for davey had received their vaccinations in years.

nonetheless, there was a part of jack that doubted the movement. it had been squashed once before, and he was certain it would be squashed again if it made a reappearance. however, deep down jack knew he wanted it to be successful. he was sick of living in a world where people weren't allowed to express their emotions. jack, having no walls to push back those emotions, only felt angry about it.

he couldn't help but wonder if a new era was coming.

~•~•~•~

"here's where it happened," eleanor said, guiding katherine to the alleyway outside of jacobi's deli where investigators were scanning the scene. "they're happening all across the city. people are terrified that another revolt could possibly take place in the near future."

"so what's our job?" katherine asked, clutching her notepad to her chest as her eyes fell upon the graffiti.

"we're stepping into the reporting side of journalism," eleanor said. "taking in details, connecting dots, stuff like that. there's a big difference between writing for the news and reporting the news."

"and that is?" katherine pressed.

"reporters do the fun stuff," eleanor said with a soft grin.

katherine nodded with a crooked smile, watching as eleanor approached one of the investigators. "good afternoon, sir. my name is eleanor brainerd and this is katherine plumber. we work for the sun here in the city. we're covering the story of these graffiti occurrences and were wondering if you could answer a few questions for us?"

the investigator exchanged a glance with his colleague before turning back to the two females. "sure, but only for a few minutes."

katherine wrote down notes as eleanor asked the questions, and she was quite impressed with her senior's expertise in asking questions that had never even crossed katherine's own mind. for a few, katherine listened intently, her interest caught by the thought-provoking questions.

"what could this mean for the city? is there an uprising on the horizon or is this simply the act of a rebellious citizen?" eleanor pressed, glancing between katherine and the investigator.

"well," the investigator began, "we can't be sure about that yet. based off of the numerous cases happening in the area, there's a chance this is simply a group of unhappy people wanting to share their disapproval. we can't be too certain that this is the work of the looking glasses at the moment."

"say it is the looking glasses," eleanor continued. "what would happen then?"

"our nation's leaders would surely make it their goal to ensure the safety of their citizens," he answered. "the people of the nation must simply remember the importance of treating fervoria and the seriousness of the illness."

after a few more questions, the investigator insisted he must return to his work, and eleanor and katherine let him. they stepped to the side, katherine showing eleanor her notes as they discussed his responses.

"this is a very convoluted situation," eleanor said. "personally, i don't think it's just some unhappy party painting their displeasures throughout the city. i believe it's the organization's way of warning us of what's to come."

katherine nodded in agreement before asking, "do you think all this time that they have been inactive they've been planning their next course of action?"

"it's very likely," eleanor answered, exhaling softly. "i'm gonna call mr. dana to see what else can be done with this story. i'll be back in a minute."

katherine nodded, watching as eleanor stepped aside. katherine's eyes fell back to the graffiti on the wall, and the sight of it sent chills down her spine. could something big really happen soon?

she was too busy staring blankly at the wall when she heard the door to jacobi's deli open. she didn't think much of it until she heard a familiar voice call out her name. she turned, spotting davey and a handful of other boys exiting the building.

"hey davey," she said with a soft smile that mirrored the one on his own face.

"what are you doing here?" davey asked her before glancing over at the alley. "sightseeing?"

katherine chuckled softly and held up her notepad, "no. i got a job with the sun and we were sent to report on the story." she then noticed jack standing slightly behind davey and  quickly offered him a greeting. "it's nice to see you again, jack."

"you two have met?" davey asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"it was a—uh—brief conversation," jack replied.

"so what's the story?" davey asked, seemingly genuinely intrigued. he was especially curious seeing as katherine could have some of the most recent information that the public might not even be aware of yet.

"there isn't much to build off," she answered. "but the investigators believe there's a chance it has nothing to do with the looking glasses and is just some petulant group trying to cause trouble."

"i don't believe that," davey said, shaking his head. "they're probably just trying to downplay the severity of it."

"our thoughts exactly," katherine said, glancing over at eleanor who had finished her phone call. "anyways, you can read more about it in tomorrow's copy of the sun. i've got to get going now."

"no problem," davey replied. "see you later, katherine."

"see you," she replied with a soft grin, turning to jack and giving him a "bye" as well before stepping aside and returning to eleanor.

jack looked after her, and the same feeling he had when he saw her at the seminar returned. he was, once again, intrigued by her approach to the topic of fervoria, and this time his interest was caught by her approach to the looking glasses. she didn't seem afraid that the organization might return. instead, she seemed to believe it was inevitable.

when katherine looked back over her shoulder to glance at them, her eyes met jack's, and a feeling that was possible for him to feel and next to impossible for katherine to feel took place in both of them. however, they both found it unfamiliar.

they felt a knot tie as if they were connected by a string.

katherine's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked away, able to hear her very own heartbeat thundering in her chest. she didn't know what it was that she had felt, but she couldn't help but think back to the article darcy had showed her the other day.

love is a union rather than an emotion; a connection.