Jack

"What's the surprise?" Chris let a smile of excitement spread across her pretty face.

"I'm gonna take you to Brooklyn!"

An even bigger smile grew across her lips. "Oh, Jack!" she unexpectedly hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes. "When are we going?" she kept her arms wrapped around my torso, but she lifted her head to meet my eyes.

I looked down at her, enjoying the moment. "Right now, if you'd like."

She let go of me an threw her skinny arms in the air. "Yes! Let's go right now!" she began to jog down the street.

I let myself chuckle before I ran after her.

***

With a couple of judgmental looks from Brooklyn newsies, Chris and I were standing on the Brooklyn Bridge. It had gotten sort of dark; it was probably around 4:00 pm now.

"This is so great Jack!" Chris spread her arms out like wings and closed her eyes. The breeze blew back some loose strands of her blonde hair.

Stop staring, Jack.

I cleared my throat before speaking, "You wanna do something fun?" At these words, she opened her crystal blue eyes and let her arms drop. She raised her eyebrows at me. "Let's yell. Scream at the top of your lungs."

She giggled, covering her mouth with her fingers, "What?"

"Just do it. It'll be fun." I smiled at her, brushing my fallen hair out of my eyes.

"Okay." She said, getting ready.

"On three, alright? One...two...three!"

We both screamed, probably loud enough for The Bronx to hear. Chris's screams were cut short with her hysterical laughs. I laughed with her, my whole body shaking with happiness.

Her laughing slowed down to small chuckles. "Man, Jack, you always know the right thing to do."

Silence fell between the two of us.

"Hey, you wanna see something cool?" she took a couple steps back from where I was standing.

"Go ahead." I prepared for the unknown trick she was going to preform.

She began to spin super fast. She seemed to get dizzier and dizzier with each turn. All of the sudden, she tripped over her own feet and fell into my arms. I caught her, and we were so close that our noses were almost touching. My hands grasped the small of her back.

Don't do it, Jack! Doing this will only mess things up!

But I love her.

Silence began again, her warm breath tickling my face. I slowly moved in millimeters at a time and she stayed still.

I kissed her soft lips. I tightened my grip around her waist. She deepened the kiss.

You do love her.

She brushed her fingers lightly through my hair before pulling away from me. She stared into my eyes and I did the same to her.

"Chris..." my voice trailed off.

"Did that really just happen?" the corner of her red lips slowly curled upward.

"I think so," I said slowly before softly chuckling and smiling back at her.

"Then I'm glad it did."

***

Christina

After a day well spent in Brooklyn, Jack and I decided to walk back to the orphanage. It was dark now and it was freezing outside. With a sweater of goosebumps, we talked.

"So, did you like your surprise?" Jack asked me, kicking a rock across the street. We both watched it skid across the uneven pavement.

"Yes! I loved it! Thank you so much, Jack."

"You're welcome. I'm glad-"

Suddenly, two dark figures jumped out from the alleyway. I shrieked as I witnessed one of the bodies tackle Jack to the ground. The smaller figure overtook Jack and sat on his stomach, hardly allowing him to breathe. The shadow began to punch Jack in the face senselessly. Jack kept attempting to defend himself but the unknown figure caught him too off guard.

"Get 'em, Oscar!"

Right then, I knew exactly who was attacking Jack.

"Damn you, Delancey bruddahs!" I bellowed. I charged after Oscar, who was still sitting on Jack. I felt his hard body slap against mine as I tackled him to the ground. Now, I was straddling Oscar, beating him just like he beat Jack. Senseless.

"Morris!" Oscar managed to shout between my punches. I could barely see, but I could make out the dark, warm red blood that covered his face and my knuckles. I felt Morris's hands grab me under my armpits and yank me off of Oscar. He twisted my arms behind my back. I fought against him, but he was too strong. Two cold objects touched my flushed cheeks.

"You feel these? They are my brass knuckles. Don't make me use them on you, Sweetheart." Morris whispered in my ear. I jerked at these words, but it didn't make any difference.

"Jack! Jack!" I called out to his unconscious body, and nothing happened. Oscar stood up slowly from the ground. His nose and mouth were pouring out velvety blood.

"I didn't know you were a girl."

"What?"

He yanked at a strand of my hair. I saw my hat sitting on the ground. It must've fallen off when I tackled him. Oscar wiped the blood from his mouth onto the back of his hand. He then stroked my cheek with his bloody fingers. I resisted my strong urge to gag.

"Go to hell, Oscar." I spat in his face. He squeezed his eyes closed at the sudden gesture, using his sleeve to wipe my spit off. I was truly scared, but I sure as hell wasn't going to show it. He then thrusted his fist towards my abdomen area, punching me with such a great force that it knocked the wind out of me. I gasped, keeling over. Pain.

"Well, Morris, why don't ya say we have a little fun first?" the most devious voice escaped Oscar's mouth as he stared at me like I was fresh meat. My heart jumped to my throat and began to race. Oscar's hand touched my chin and he lifted my face to meet his. He caressed my cheek, and I found the power the turn away from him. He grabbed my chin again and pulled it back to meet his face. He had a smirk plastered across his wide lips as he took the ends of my shirt and began to lift them upward.

"No! No!" I wailed, trying my absolute hardest to squirm out of Morris's grip.

"Hold her still!" Oscar commanded as he shoved his face into the crook of my neck, forcefully sucking at my collarbone area. I cried and screamed harder than ever. Something sparked within me and I found the strength to break one of my arms free from Morris's death grip. I shoved Oscar off of me as hard as I could and stumbled past the two, taking off running.

"Help! Help me!" I cried as I made my break for it.

"Get her!" one of them hollered. I couldn't tell who, for my pounding heart was louder than thunder in my ears. I was too weak from crying to run at a fast pace, so it was only seconds till they caught up to me. I idiotically tripped over my own feet. I plummeted to the ground hard and fast, once again, having my breath sucked out of my lungs. I turned myself over on my back to see the two brothers standing above me, arms crossed with frowns across their lips.

"Now that we have you and your pal Jack fixed up, we are gonna take you to a real nice place called the Refuge." Morris stated, chuckling a little with this.

My eyes widened at the statement, and I was petrified. I have heard terrible things about the Refuge. I tried to scream again, but my voice only came out hoarse and useless.

"Nighty night!"

That was the last thing I could make out before everything went dark.

Thanks a ton for reading!!!:)