Chapter Text
“Woah woah!” Jack shot up from his seat, gripping his arm tightly and gawking at it, holding the offensive appendage away from his body as if it were on fire.
Race glanced up, unbothered, from the sandwich he had been inspecting. “What are ya squalling about now, Jackie boy?
Jack glared at the nickname. He opened his mouth to respond, but Romeo cut him off from over his shoulder. “Where’d ya manage to get a pen from?”
“I didn’t! That’s what I’m sayin- look!” Jack held out his arm for the gathering group to see.
“Ah, I know. Thems your soulmate marks.” Jack whipped around to look at Henry.
“My what?” “Your soulmate marks. Whenever your soulmate gets a cut, writes on theyself, or any mark, it shows up on you.”
Race stepped forward, now intrigued. “L-lunch with Hannah” he read, twisting his head to read the messy writing.
"Lunch with Bull- Bill.” Finch read, before letting out a whistle. “Sounds like yous got a rich girl if she’s having grub with so many people”.
Romeo scoffed. “Think this fancy rich doll’ll even like Jack?”
“Shaddup, Romeo. Yous just jealous you aint got your soulmate marks.” Albert said, leaning on a chair.
“He prolly never will! Notice how no girls even looked his way at the Bowery last night?” Finch crowed. Romeo turned red and shouted something sharp back at the pair, but Jack wasn’t listening any more. He turned to Henry.
“So- does it work one way, or if I write somethin will she see it?” Henry nodded.
“Works both ways, Is what I heard”. Jack chewed at his lip. Now where on earth am I going to find a pen?
~
Jack tried again to read the sprawling handwriting in the dusky light.
“Lunch with Hannah. Lunch with Bill. Dinner with dad. Meetin with editor.” he read to himself for the umpteenth time. “What’s an editor, anyhow?” He heard footsteps and looked up.
“Hey.” Crutchie called from the ladder. Jack didn’t move to help him up. He didn’t need a lecture about the boy’s independence today. I got it, I got it. I don’t want anybody carrying me. Not even my best friend.
“Hey, yaself”. Crutchie finally appeared next to Jack, and slid down beside him, setting his crutch down and groaning slightly from the effort. He glanced at Jack’s arm.
“Don’t think too hard about it. If she’s really ya soulmate, youse gonna find her sometime.” Jack sighed.
“I hear ya.” After a moment, Crutchie nudged him.
“If yous done thinkin, I’d love to get some shut eye.” Jack smiled.
“Right, sorry.”
~
“That her?” Race came strolling up to Jack, paper-free and clearly proud of it. Jack was walking away from a young woman he had just solicited.
“No,” he replied with a scowl. He’d spent the last month examining the arms of every girl he saw, but he never found one with writing on her arms. A few other messages, or seemingly reminders, had appeared.
Flower show Tues. Friday BB show. By the time he was able to decipher the scribbles, he had usually missed whatever show she was seeing. Or he didn’t have enough for a ticket. He had actually made it to a vaudeville show that she was at. He ignored the show and scanned the room scrupulously, desperately trying to memorize every female face in the audience.
And that was only in the main audience. If his soulmate really was a “rich doll” like Romeo had said, she might’ve been sitting in a private box. The only place Jack might be allowed in a private box was Medda Larkin’s Bowery, where he sometimes painted backdrops, but the girl never wrote anything about the Bowery. Race was walking with him now, telling him to cheer up, and that no one else even had their soulmate markings yet.
“At least not that I know of. Some could be hidin em, why’s beyond me.”
“You don’t have them.” Jack asked, though he already knew the answer. Race shook his head.
“You’d be the first to know pal” he bumped Jack’s shoulder with his, grinning. Jack smiled back.
“Youse right. I’ll find her when the time is right.”