A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys! I hope you like Chapter Two. BTW, I won't be able to update because I'm heading off to camp this week. But I will update right after that- promise. OK, here we go.

Chapter Two: November 1936

Kit and Ruthie filed into their homeroom, hand in hand. They were giggling and gossiping, looking at the fancy paper decorations that covered their classroom. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving, Mr. Sinclair explained once the students were all seated, and today was going to be a free-for-all. They would stay in the homeroom all day, and they could do whatever they wanted as long as they were "reasonably quiet" and stayed in their seats. Ruthie and Kit made a beeline for the board games Mr. Sinclair always stacked in the back of the room.

"Quick, let's get Monopoly before someone snatches it," Ruthie suggested.

"Sure!" Kit grabbed the box. She felt a finger tap her shoulder and turned around.

"Can I play too?" Stirling asked.

"Okay," Kit said and laid the game on the ground. Ruthie started sorting out the jumbled mess of pieces.

"Hey, can I play too?" someone asked in an unusually high-pitched voice. Kit raised her head and saw Roger's sneering face.

"No."

"You're letting your boyfriend play."

"He's not her boyfriend," Ruthie snapped, putting the funny money into piles around the board. Roger ran his hands through his hair, looking a bit hurt. Roger kicked one of Ruthie's carefully arranged piles and scattered the colored paper. One stuck to the bottom of his shoe and he picked it off. He stared at it, scoffed, and ripped it into shreds.

"$500. I doubt you really have that much money, Kit. This is the closest you're EVER gonna' get. You're so poor you can't afford to buy clothes or food or anything that people who aren't BUMS can get. Hear that? Your family is nothing but a collection of low-rent bums!"

Kit was too shocked even to speak. All the kissy noises and Here-Comes-The-Bride renditions she could deal with. But this was too much.

"Oh, so that's why you live with Kit," brayed Roger. "I thought you two were married!"

The class snickered as Roger made kissing noises. Stirling slouched in his seat. Kit shook her fist at Roger.

At the moment Kit wasn't shaking her fists at Roger; they were clenched around a Monopoly gameboard coming down on his pea-brained head.

The next thing she knew she was sitting on a bench outside and Mr. Sinclair was talking at her and Roger.

"Roger, you must understand what you said to Kit was incredibly mean -spirited and inappropriate. And Kit! Hitting your own classmate! Such childish behavior. Now go outside for recess and I'll go call the others out. No more behavior like that or you'll both be suspended."

"Sorry, Roger," Kit muttered.

"C'mere Kit. I wanna' tell you something," Roger said and stood up. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the school building

"What are we-"

"Quiet," Roger growled and stomped over to a spot near the school's brick wall. "Do you have any idea how much that hurts? To have your head beat on by a bum?"

Kit shook her head. "But you have to understand…" he glanced around the schoolyard. No one else was there. "if it weren't for your sweet little friend my dad would have had you expelled by now."

"My sweet little friend?" Kit was puzzled.

"Ruthie."

"What? You like Ruthie?" Kit let the shock soak in.

"You got a problem with that?"

"Ruthie would never ever like you. You were a perverted, prejudiced kid in grade four and you still are."

Roger pinned her against the brick wall. He kicked her several times in her foot. "Big words ain't gonna' get you nowhere."

"That doesn't hurt, you moron. Let me go!" Kit struggled, her cardigan sweater trapping her between the wall and Roger.

"Oh? You want something harder?" Roger's right hand left her, probably forming into a fist. Kit's knees knocked against each other. Just how hard could Roger punch?

She was paralyzed with terror.

"Stop!" Ruthie shrieked as someone dove in front of Roger. The person knocked Roger over, sending him spiraling down the muddy hill. Kit fell on top of her rescuer. The play yard was silent for a moment. Someone began to clap.

"Get off of me," groaned a husky voice. Kit rolled off the pile and looked at her rescuer. Her mouth dropped to the floor. It was Stirling. Stirling had just thrown himself in front of Roger and taken the bullet of Roger's punch. This was too weird.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" Ruthie ran up and pulled Kit off of Stirling, then ran down the hill to help Roger up. Good old Ruthie.

"Roger! How dare you? You could have killed her! What's wrong with you? You're insane!" Ruthie was ranting. Kit helped Stirling to his feet and dusted him off. A teacher pulled the muddy Roger away from Ruthie.

"Um… Stirling?" Kit asked.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. So much." Stirling looked at the brick wall and sort of shuffled his feet.

"No problem, Kit."

At the end of the day Ruthie and Kit walked out of the classroom hand in hand, still giggling and gossiping as they had that morning, Stirling walking beside them.

They dropped Ruthie off at her house and continued to walk home. About a block away from their house, Stirling slipped his hand into hers. The butterflies in Kit's stomach started dancing, and a tingling sensation spread up her arm. It was unreal. She gave his hand a little squeeze and was certain she saw him blush a little bit. Her face must be positively pink at this point.

They walked into the house, took off their coats and boots, and ascended the stairs to their rooms to get started on homework. Just like any other normal day. But today wasn't normal. Kit could feel in her fluttering heart that today was maybe the most special day of her whole life. She contemplated this while staring at page 35 of her history textbook, part of the marathon of homework Mr. Sinclair had assigned for the weekend. She couldn't concentrate on the lesson at all; Thanksgiving in the United States: The Revolutionary War to Nationhood. It was probably fascinating, but she just couldn't focus. With an exasperated sigh, she closed the book and started staring at the wall across from the loosely stuffed armchair where she was sitting. She was looking right into her baseball alcove: mitt, ball, and- Ernie Lombardi. Schnozz. Teacups. Stirling. Memories flooded in and she shook them out and started trying to read her history lesson again.

She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and shut her book once again. Stirling was smiling as he came up the stairs.

"I couldn't concentrate on my homework."

"Neither could I," Kit said, scooting over in the big chair. "Come-sit."

Stirling sat down just beside Kit so they were squished quite closely together. "Let's at least try to make some headway," Kit sighed, whipping out her history book.

It had been hard concentrating just thinking of Stirling. Now he was sitting right beside her, sending tingles up and down her spine. She bit her lip and focused in on the book. Still no use. Stirling's hand appeared and closed the book. Kit set the book on the floor and leaned back into the chair. Stirling set his book on the floor and looked at Kit with his wide grey eyes. She looked down and nervously twiddled her thumbs. He set one hand on her shoulder and murmured something Kit couldn't hear. She leaned a little bit closer and he slid one arm around her shoulder. Kit grabbed his free hand and began stroking it a little with her thumb. It felt nice. Stirling's skin was very soft.

They cuddled for a while longer, neither mustering the courage to say anything. Finally Stirling turned his head and whispered three little words in her ear:

"I love you."

Kit gave him an uneasy glance. Her stomach was doing flips and turns, her skin was tingling something fierce.

"I love you, too," she finally said. A huge grin broke out on Stirling's face. Kit could feel a smile forming on her face as well. Stirling raised his hands and set them behind her head, tousling her hair slightly and sending tingles all over her scalp.

"May I?" he said. Kit nodded. The two moved in even closer than they already were. Stirling took a deep breath, and then he kissed her.