Ooooooh Javiddddd yayyyyyyyy

And Newsbians! :)

And a little spicy plot. I think?

I took out the spice.

Enjoy! :)

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David, Jack, Sarah, and Kathryn planned a double date for today. They'll know when to give each other space, and when to be together as a full group.

Jack and Kathryn find it kind of hilarious that now they're both in same gender relationships after dating each other in ninth grade and their current partners are twins. They really appreciate the humor of the situation.

As they walk through the city, Jack replays yesterday in his head. All of them doing research on their past lives. With so much information but so much that they still don't know.

As Jack looks at David now, he thinks about what he asked of his friends last night.

"Do you think I could at least mention the whole past lives things to David?" Jack asked them.

They all exchanged glances, unsure. Should he?

"What will David think of it?" Tony asked. "He doesn't seem like the kind of person to believe in all that stuff."

"There is that," Sean agreed.

"Any reason in particular why you would want to tell him?" Nick asked.

Oh, just how should Jack explain his reasoning?

"Tony, remember how there was that whole thing about past lives and soulmates?" Jack asked him.

"Yeah...?"

"And how soulmates could be attracted to each other over and over again because they were together in a past life?"

"Yeah."

He paused. "I think David might be my soulmate throughout time."

"Jack, I know we gave you a lot of trouble about having feelings for David, but-" Tony began.

Jack shook his head. "No. I know this is more than just feelings. It's like we did know each other. Like we were meant to be together. I know I haven't known him that long. But...there are just some things that you know."

Louis and Nick exchanged glances, as did Tony and Sean. They all know exactly what he's talking about; they all felt the same thing about each other.

And so everyone agreed.

If the timing is right, and it seems like a good idea, Jack can tell David all about what they've learned about past lives.

This is still something that Jack wants to do.

He just ... hasn't found the right way to do it yet.

Because Wanna hold hands? Like we maybe did in our past life? is *totally* a normal thing to say.

Or maybe, Hey, I just met you a few months ago, and please don't think I'm crazy, but I think we're soulmates because we were together in another life.

And then there's the super blunt Do you believe in past lives? Because I think we had a past life. Together. We were newsies in 1899, striking against a newspaper company called The World because they changed the price of papers from 50 cents per hundred papers to 60 cents per hundred papers. And we didn't like that. We won, though. You do believe in reincarnation, right?

Yeah, none of those would cut it.

This is just like realizing you're queer and coming out all over again.

Jack remembers when he first learned that he was bi. And how he wanted to tell people, but he was scared of how they react.

Because once you say the wrong thing to the wrong person, the situation can go badly, ruining relationships, or can be dangerous.

This isn't exactly that kind of situation, however.

But let's be honest: once you realize one thing about your identity, saying anything else about yourself that isn't "normal" feels like coming out.

The four have fun together, which is always a good thing.

Once they go back to Sarah and David's house, they go their separate ways to different rooms, spending time together that no one could overhear.

If there's any right moment to do it, it's this moment.

As Jack is struggling with his inner turmoil, David is unaware of anything at all.

"Today was fun," David tells him. "Sorry I couldn't see you last night."

"Oh no, it's totally fine," Jack says, distracted. Then he shakes his head gently to clear it and looks at David with a smile. "I got today."

That gets David to grin and blush a little.

It's a good look on David.

Very cute.

"Too bad we don't have much longer before we have to go back to school," David comments.

Jack sighs. "Yeah."

"Winter Break is great because you can forget about school for a little bit, you know?" David continues. "Summer's great. Summer's awesome. But I also like taking a break in the winter from school. We get holidays, and we don't have to think about school until the next calendar year. It's nice while it lasts."

That right there was classic escapism.

David is speaking Jack's language.

Any other thoughts Jack has in the moment are written off as irrelevant.

"And it's like no matter what, you always have to keep coming back to school," Jack murmurs. "Right?"

David nods, fully agreeing. "No matter how hard you try, you always have to keep coming back."

"And no one understands what happened to you in the time you were away. A lot could have happened, or nothing could have happened. But no matter what, they won't get it. They weren't there. And you feel even more isolated."

"And you do little things in between the big breaks to distract yourself, to get away for awhile."

"Because even just that tiny little escape can help," Jack and David say together.

They smile.

"We had more in common than I ever could have imagined," Jack breathes, heart beating faster.

"We do," David agrees, still smiling.

Now it's time to seize the moment. Seize the day.

"Hasn't that happened a lot, though?" Jack asks, moving off into uncharted territory. "We find out that we have more in common than we thought. And there's just something that clicks."

David nods, not necessarily knowing where this is going. "Sometimes, people just go well together. There's good chemistry."

Jack swallows. "What if it's more than just good chemistry?"

David pauses. "What do you mean by that?"

Now or never. 

This is the turning point of their relationship.

They can either grow closer ... or drift apart.

No matter what happens, Jack's pretty sure nothing will ever be the same.

If he keeps going, that is.

"What do you think about past lives?" Jack asks tentatively. "Reincarnation?"

David has to think on that for a moment. "To be honest, I haven't thought that much about it. It's an interesting concept, but I don't know if there's enough science to back it up. If it was real, it would be really interesting."

Jack is suddenly struck by déjà vu.

Him and David meeting for the first time.

But not their first meeting.

The first time they met in 1899.

Jack can't see any faces or hear either of their voices, or really register any of their surroundings, but he knows it's his essence and David's essence, in one place and time. Whoever David was back then was a skeptic, just like he is now.

They weren't meant to work so well together.

Yet they did.

Because like David said, there was good chemistry.

Real David--his David--brings him back to his senses. "Why do you ask?"

It's like Jack just woke up, disoriented. When he fully comes to his senses, he sees David looking at him curiously, openly.

He could say it all right now.

He could say that he and his friends know that they were these other people from another time era.

He could say that they are probably soulmates.

But the thing is, David doesn't seem affected by the same déjà vu that Jack experienced at all. So either he didn't feel it, or he's really good at hiding it.

Jack realizes he's not ready to take the gamble.

He will in the future. He knows that.

He knows that while David doesn't fully believe in reincarnation, he might be open to the idea.

If David says he believes Jack after he says everything, then amazing. But he could also not believe Jack when he says they were in love in another time. And if David turns down that idea...Jack doesn't know what he'll do. In such a short time, learning about his past life has become very important to him.

Jack knows one thing: this can't be rushed. It will have to happen slowly.

So, instead of spilling all of his cultivating thoughts, Jack just smiles and replies, "I don't know why I asked, really. It just seems fascinating, is all."

And he leaves it at that.

---------------------------------------------------

I have no clue how to describe how I feel writing that.

On one hand, it's entirely relatable, being so close to saying how you feel, then not saying anything at all.

On the other...it's like why did you do that?! You could have had it all!!

I was sort of inspired by the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home. If you've watched No Way Home, you'll know what I mean. If not, I'm not going to spoil the movie.

And I can't have Jack lose his connection to David. And Jack knew that he couldn't lose it either.

I was originally going to have Jack just flat out tell David a lot of things, but I don't think either of them (including me) are ready for that just yet.

Can you tell that I've never dated someone and have never been on a date? I feel like it's obvious in how I write all the dates haha.

Like said, I know Jack Kelly and David Jacobs are fictional characters, based on a couple of real people, but didn't exist themselves. Like I said, I'm figuring it out.

And I'm figuring out where to go in future chapters.

Don't worry, I have a plan!

Kind of...

We'll find out! :)

Please, no homophobia or transphobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who wrote this kinda fast and feels kinda satisfied by that haha)