3 A Second Chance, A New Beginning

Shane punched Jesseye's arm as they left the cell one morning. "Hey!" She snickered, shoving him to the left. She shook her head and headed in the other direction for breakfast, "Don't forget I owe you a game, hotshot!" She shouted after him. He was probably going to take a shower.

He waved her off, "Sure, whatever!"

Because he was one of the last ones to make it to breakfast, the cafeteria was mostly empty. She was already at her stupid Bible group, or whatever she called it. He didn't listen. It didn't really matter. If he read her right, she'd probably lose passion for it as soon as they were out.

The spunky, freckled faced woman noticed him across the yard after being released from the group. Someone seemed to be talking to him. At first she was happy for Shane, thinking he was making a friend, but as she got closer, she realized that the other dude didn't seem very happy with him... "So Micah left you here *alll* alone, didn't he?" He grinned devilishly. He had been waiting to get this little brat alone for years. He thought Shane too full of himself and privileged. What right did he have to be at Ironclad's right hand? Just cuz he was the leader's son?! It went against everything this gang stood for!

Shane's dark brows furrowed in anger and annoyance. "Shut up." He snapped.

The older gang member started to rear back just as Jesseye draped her arm around her friend's shoulder. Her glare warned him off,"Hey Mike," she greeted with a measure of cool innocence that made the man wince,"Having a nice chat with my friend?" She asked with a giggle, rubbing Shane's shoulder to show possessiveness.

"I, um, y-yeah," Suddenly all of Mike's confidence drained, "Yeah we are. Reminiscing over old times," he glanced nervously over his shoulder for an out.

As soon as he left, Shane slapped Jesseye's arm off. "Leave me alone." He snapped, anger welling within him once more. Who did she think she was?! "I don't need your protection!" He spat in her face. The ginger's smile fell off her lips with a deep sigh of disappointment. He hadn't forgiven her yet. "I can take care of myself!" He huffed and shook his head as he walked over to a bench. He hated it here. He hated that he had run into Mike, that his cell mate was a peppery Christian girl, all of it!

Jesseye followed him and sat down too. "I know you can, but.." Her eyes dimmed as she knew making excuses wouldn't help. Didn't he know anything about this jail? This was a dangerous place for someone with as many enemies as him. "I'm sorry. Okay? I probably shouldn't have intervened, but I didn't want to see you get hurt," she said, her green eyes dark with remorse.

He scoffed and shook his head. "What if I wanted to?" She sighed and glanced to Mike across the yard. "What if I wanted to beat him up? Get my anger out." He said, gripped his palms into fists.

How could he stay mad at her for so long? She'd been nothing but friendly since that game a week ago. "It wouldn't have helped, Shane." she replied somberly. She was so tired of this. "You would've been thrown in the hole with the same anger you had before," she said softly, knowing from experience. She just wanted to make amends. Couldn't he see that? This morning was the first sign of acknowledging her existence since then.

He glanced over at her, snatched up a tennis ball, and threw it as hard as he could at the wall. Of course he caught it. "Yeah, whatever." Silence filled the air for several minutes as she wasn't sure how to continue. He seemed so determined not to like her. She felt so down, "So." He began, honestly still not confident she didn't want his head like Mike. "What's your stupid gig? The one you wanted my help in?" He asked with a shake of his head. "What's in it for you?" he asked as he threw his ball.

She rubbed her neck at the question and glanced around,"It's just a small job." she began to explain, keeping a low tone for fear of the guards overhearing, "Y'know how they got me for picking pocketing?" She asked, placing a small smile onto her lips.

He nodded and threw his ball, less sharply this time. "Yeah."

She really didn't want to talk about this right now, but she felt he was on the verge of shut down again, "It's kinda like that, but... bigger. It's me and my friend and we'd split the money after. All I want is to learn."

He scoffed. There had to be more to this. He'd seen how she'd just cohersed Mike, she had *way* more tricks under her sleeves than she let on, "What's your big dream you're always talking about?" he asked curtly. She sighed. The one time he wanted to talk and she didn't.

"I know it's stupid," she laughed nervously, shrugging lightly. So many people had tried to dissuade her and tell her this was a foolish idea,"But I've got this dream where..." she drew a deep breath before answering very quickly, "I own a five star restaurant and feed the poor with the leftovers."

He nodded and bit his cheek. "Ok then." He expected more rainbows, but okay.

She glanced over to him and frowned,"Don't worry about it. I-i get it if you don't wanna help," her voice shook with emotion. How was she ever going to find the right person? She stood up as tears welled up in her eyes, "Stupid girl, stupid dream." She mumbled the words she'd heard almost every time she mentioned it. The people weren't exactly kind in this town. Why wasn't she used to it already?

He glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow. He sighed and shook his head. "What's wrong?" Clearly did not want to be concerned for her. "You scared you won't be able to get there?" He questioned a little more sincerely.

She shook her head. Rubbing her face, she sat down at a different bench, "Nothing. I'm just sorry, okay?" She snapped then immediately regretted it,"I jus, I've wanted this since I was a kid.. so I guess yes.?" She pulled her ponytail out, combing through it with her fingers as she struggled to control her emotions.

Shane crossed his arms over his chest and nodded from the other bench. He had never really thought much about his future or what he would do if he could get out of his dad's clutches. "You don't have to be sorry." He said, genuinely trying to be nice.

"I've been looking for someone like you who's trained to do this for almost six months," soft disheartened tears trickled down her freckled face, "I don't want to push it on you or anything," she said sincerely with a shake of her head. Being the son of a ruthless gang leader meant that he'd probably had enough of that. The *last* thing she wanted to do was hurt him, "But I'm afraid it'll never happen. If I can't pick a necklace off someone's neck than how am I gonna hit a whole store?" She asked herself as she tried to wipe her eyes.

Some days were so hard and his anger towards her all week hadn't helped. She'd apologized several times but he had ignored her. She hated feeling unwanted, because that was exactly what she had grown up with. Her parents died when she was a baby, and her grandparents didn't want her; so they threw her on the steps of an orphanage. Her foster parents weren't much better.

He bite his cheek as he thought things over. He was rather conflicted with himself. She seemed so distraught, sincere. Her tears looked so real, but what if it was all an act? He'd seen countless people faked tears to get out of an interrogation. There was only one way to ensure they both made it out of this well off, "Look, I'll make you a deal." He said, straightening up on on his bench and rubbed the back of his neck.

Her eyes shined a little more,"Yeah?" She asked with a sliver of hope.

"I'll help you..." she gulped a breath as she couldn't comprehend what he was saying, "If you and your friend can get my van back." He told her with a shrug. She jumped up from her bench and tackled him. He couldn't help chuckling lightly and patting her back, "It won't be easy, if I know my dad. But if you find it, I'll help you." He said with a small smile.

She hugged him tightly, giggling with joy, "Awe thank you!!" She grinned as if he'd given her a puppy.

"Nah, You seem decent enough." He said with a laugh as he watched her.

Her eyes sparkled,"Thanks!" She let go of him and bounced with joy,"I'm so happy I could kiss you!" She exclaimed to the entire court yard, making some of the other people snicker.

"She seems happy," one of them joked, elbowing her friend.

He furrowed his eyebrows at her statement and shook his head. "Mmm nahhh." He said with a small smirk. She cocked her head, still giggling lightly. He stood up and pat her back. "Maybe another time, hotstuff." He said with a wink, walking over to the ping pong table.

"Wh-what?" She looked at him in confusion. Did he really mean that? Her heart beat faster at that thought.

"How about we play a match instead?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.

She bounced over to the other side of the table and nodded, too excited to really ponder what he meant,"Sure!" She snatched up a paddle and flipped it in the air,"Whatcha got?!"

He laughed lightly and picked up the small ball. "Mm not much. But maybe I'll be a bit better then basketball." He said with a laugh before serving the ball to her.

She snickered at him,"Let's hope so!" She hit it back with a grin, feeling more energized than ever.

He kept his eyes on the small white blur and quickly got the hang of it. "Oh wait." He said with a cock of his head. "I'm sorry did I mention that I played this all the time against my wall to relive stress?" He hit the ball back and snickered. "Guess I didn't. Sorry."

She rolled her eyes,"So.. What you're saying is that I'm gonna beat a pro?" She asked with a wink as she smacked the small white ball, gaining a point on him.

He chuckled and picked the ball off the hard ground. "No." He disagreed, his lips curved in a devious fashion. He could rig a game too. It was only fair.

"Oo!" She put her free hand over her mouth,"Does that hurt, Shane? Getting beat by a ditzy little girl like me?" She asked in a taunt.

*&^%$*&^%$*&^%$*&^%$*

Jesseye groaned when he made up all of his points and more. He put down his paddle and smiled at her. "Sorry Jess." He apologized with an unsympathetic shrug.

She rolled her eyes,"C'mon!" She sighed as she put her paddle down. He sauntered around the table, looked her up and down then poked her nose. Her face lit faint red in spite of her. She refused to acknowledge it, but arched her brows and slapped him away, "You don't have to rub it in my face!" She shouted in annoyance.

So smug, he turned around and to moonwalk backwards. He then flipped her off and burst into laughter as she started running after him. "Oh shit." He spun on his heels and sprinted the other way. "No no no. I was joking. You have longer legs than me!"

"Shane!" She caught him and shook him by the shoulders. She chuckled at his annoyed face,"That was a good game," she said with a wide smile. She let go of him and took a step back,"Thanks for giving me a second chance," she said warmly.

He looked at her in utter confusion and rubbed his arm. "You're welcome?" He shook his head and took another step back as they were very close. He gulped and looked around awkwardly. "Um, sooo n-now what?" He asked with a nervous laugh.

Jesseye shrugged, snickering at his silly question, "I dunno. I was thinking of taking a shower before they force us into confinement again." She replied with a nod, pretty sweaty from their match and the heat of the sun.

*&^%*&^%*&^%*&^%*

Tony's ear quirked at the sound of his favorite female friend giggling. He glanced from drying a dish to see her smiling at a finely folded letter. After wiping off his hands he appeared at her shoulder,"Jess write you?"

Gah Jazzebella nearly jumped out of her skin,"Tony!" She exclaimed, exasperated.

He gave a low chuckle and shook his head before moving to the table he needed to wait. "What's got ya giggling?"

She drew a breath and regained her composure, "She's found another stray, that's all." She almost wished she could flirt with him, but doing that while he was waiting would paint a bad picture on the place he'd spent so much time creating. Instead she rested her head on her wrist and sighed. "I miss her."

He nodded while scribbling down his table's order, two larges, one cheese, the other a meatlover's with mushrooms and bell peppers. "I'll take these..." He mumbled, taking up their menus,"Sure. It'll be out in a minute." He walked calmly back over to Jazza and handed the receipt to his pizza extraordinaire.

"Said she's made friends with her cellmate.." Jazza paused to scan for the guy's name,"Shane." He nodded and returned to his dishes. She cracked into a smile once more, "Poor girl is so clueless. I mean, look at this," she turned the paper around and pushed it forward, nearly snickering again.

He came near with another wet plate, his hands still busy as he leaned over. She tapped a sentence to read and shook her head once more. 'Jazz, you should see him! He's perfect! Ruggedly handsome, strong, sweet.. And oh he's got these eyes. They're like pure gold, soft and reflective--er maybe that's not right. I dunno! He's the Ironclad prince! That's gotta mean he's the best, right? We *gotta* get him on our team!'

Tony was chuckling now too. "You're right. She's got it *bad*."

"I know," Her best friend nodded, pulling the page back by her fingertip, "Let's home she's not the only one..." She grew quiet for a moment, "Another heartbreak would kill her." She said somberly as she thought of her last relationship. How long had it been? Nearly four years?

Jazzebella glanced meditatively up to the man whom she shared such a dear relationship with. Maybe it was time? She wasn't sure. Unlike Jesseye, she couldn't just bounce back from hurt. But if her sister had courage, maybe she should too?

She swallowed a sip of water and folded the letter once more, placing it carefully back into its paper home.

"Heading out?"

She nodded,"Yeah, gotta rest up if I'm gonna fill my orders tomorrow."

"Cya around?"

She turned back from the door and smiled,"Course." He glanced up to witness her hesitance. She lightly pet the handle with her thumb. "Y'know... She's not the only one who's got her eyes on someone."

A more than tipsy, red lipped woman started the "Ooo~" and the rest of the pizza joint rang with her.

One guy snickered and elbowed his buddy a couple times over, "I thought they were already dating," he leaned alittle to close to say.

"I--you," Lord he suddenly felt so hot. His long, dark face was probably so red. Before he could properly react, she was gone. "Jazz!" He threw his towel on the counter and ran after her.

All he found outside was dust. He gripped his short afro and cursed. Was that it? Did he just blow everything by not reacting fast enough? Was that her telling him she was finally ready or that his chances were up? He sighed and kicked up a cloud of dirt. He didn't even have her number to ask, so he'd have to find out whenever she came back. But, he worried dismally, what if he choked again?