Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies yadda-yadda-yadda. I do own Windy and technically I own Rusty…
Notes: In part a gift fic for Rustie and a belated fic in honor of David Sidoni's birthday. Pie needs some love.
--
Noah Allerdyce, also known as Pie Eater, was beginning to believe that he was unlucky in love. He was what his friend Jack referred to as 'an equal opportunity lover' since he enjoyed the company of both sexes.
For the first two years of high school, he dated a boy named Ben Lee, whom everyone called Swifty due to his position on the track team. He was the first person to really "get" him and the first person he slept with. Then Bernardo Mendoza came to school at the beginning of junior year. He whispered a few sweet nothings into Swifty's ear in Spanish and they've been dating ever since.
After that debacle, Pie started to date a boy who was called Itey. His actual name was Giuseppe Spinelli and he was possibly the sweetest guy on the face of the planet, outside of Billy Meyers. Of course, Itey was smart. Billy, as was often said—and what earned him his nickname—had all the intelligence of a bowl of mush.
He and Itey dated up until last week. Snitch, Itey's roommate, came into Pie's room and asked him if he wanted to watch The Stand with him. Pie found them the next morning, doing a bit more than watching a movie. The movie was, in fact, still on and Itey and Snitch were fast asleep in each other's arms. It was quite obvious what had just happened.
The fact that they were naked did nothing to abate his insinuations.
So there he was. One week after the Itey incident and he was sitting alone in his room on his birthday, ruminating in his own love life or lack thereof. Every guy or girl he was ever with ran off with someone else.
The door to his room flew open and Windy tripped in. It was the only way to describe her entrance. Windy never walked. She skipped, tripped, twirled and danced everywhere she went.
As usual, she was dragging Racetrack by his wrist. Pie was one of the few people who knew that Race was gay and that Windy had been pretending to be his girlfriend since sixth grade. Race's parents were these fascist, right-wing homophobes. Pie, of course, only knew this because he was Race's roommate.
"Pie!" she said excitedly. "So glad you're here!"
"What do you want, Windy?" They weren't exactly friends so it was easy to assume that Windy came in here with a hidden agenda.
She grinned a little and her gray eyes danced with anticipation. "I found you someone!"
He sat up. "I don't want to be set up."
A labored sigh. "Piiiiieee! Come on. It's my roommate. She's super sweet, nice, funny, cute…"
"You're making that up," Race mumbled.
"Am not!" She elbowed him.
Pie rolled his eyes. "Guys, really. I don't want to be set up."
Windy sighed again.
"Pie, come on. You can't spend your birthday moping."
Race elbowed her and leaned over to whisper something into her ear. Whatever it was made Windy grin and giggle. When he turned back, they both flashed cheesy grins in his direction.
"Okay," Windy said, still grinning creepily. "You don't have to meet my friend. But you can't spend your birthday moping. Come to Just for Fun and play Skeeball with us."
Race nodded. "Yeah. It'll be fun. Come on. I'll buy you a birthday Slushie."
Pie sighed. He really didn't want to go out with them but what else was he going to do? Sit in his room and listen to Itey and Snitch having sex in the next room while thinking about how that could be him?
"And I'll buy you a fruit pie," Windy added.
"Alright. I'll go."
They cheered. Actually cheered. Race told him to meet them at seven and they took off.
Now with nothing to do, Pie got up and roamed the halls. Loud music was coming from the room down the hall, signifying the presence of life somewhere in their hallway.
He shuffled towards the music, keeping his hands in his pockets. The door was wide open and he could see Mush. He was running around frantically, stuffing clothes into drawers and into the tiny closet. His cheeks were stained pink from exertion and his curls stuck out strangely as if he had been pulling on them.
He also found it strange that his music of choice to apparently clean was The Monkees.
Pie lightly rapped on the doorframe but Mush didn't appear to hear him.
"Mush?"
No answer.
"Mush?"
Once again, all he got was the pound of music and the sound of rustling clothes.
"Mush!"
He stopped, arms full of jackets and jeans. His face was a visible mask of surprise. He dropped his armload onto the floor and practically pounced on the stereo to turn it off.
"I don't like them!" he squeaked. "It's David's music, I swear!"
Pie rolled his eyes. "Mush, I don't care what you listen to."
His look of surprise turned into a grin. "Okay. Then it's mine."
He rolled his eyes again but then looked at the veritable disaster zone that was his room.
"What are you doing anyway?"
"Cleaning."
He gave him a skeptical look.
"What? I can't clean my own room?" he looked offended.
"Mush, you never clean your room."
"So?"
He noticed that every single article of clothing was his and spread out over David's bed.
"Let me guess. David went home for the weekend and you were supposed to do laundry but you didn't so you're throwing everything into the closet?"
A confused look passed over his face. "How'd you know?"
"Because you do this every month."
"Oh…hey! It's your birthday today, right?"
He nodded.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" He tackled him in a hug.
Pie pushed him off. "Thanks, Mush."
He picked back up his clothes and threw them into an open drawer.
"You doing anything?"
Mush turned and pressed his back against the drawer, grunting in frustration as it didn't budge. Pie decided to have mercy on him and helped him get it closed. After they finished, they relaxed, panting slightly.
"Yeah. I'm going with Race and Windy to Just for Fun."
"Ooh, I love Just for Fun! I love playing Skeeball."
"You wanna come?"
Pie regretted asking it. Mush was little…overbearing at times and he wasn't the brightest penny in the fountain.
"I best not," he said, for some reason, in a British accent. "David's coming home today and I gotta clean. He'll get pissed."
He stood and rolled his eyes.
"Mush," he said. "Your husband keeps you on too short a leash."
A look of fear became plastered on his face.
"We're not dating!"
Pie held his hands up in defense.
"Okay, Mush. Calm down."
"We're not!"
"Okay."
Rolling his eyes again, Pie left. He checked his watch. He had to leave now to go to Just for Fun if he wanted to be on time. Even if he didn't want to go, punctuality was huge with him.
--
When he got to the arcade, Windy and Race were already there. They were sharing a massive Slushie they both probably could bathe in and with them was a girl with choppy, rust-colored hair. He stopped in his tracks. Who was this?
"Windy?"
He stormed over to her and grabbed her by one arm, dragging her off to the side.
"Yes?" She had the audacity to look innocent.
"Who is that?"
"My roommate," she chirped.
"I told you that I didn't want to be set up."
She rolled her eyes. "Pie, Pie, Pie. She's just coming with us. The world doesn't revolve around you."
He knew better than to believe her.
"Windy…" he said in a threatening voice.
"Just give her a chance. Be nice."
Race turned around in the booth, grinning widely.
"We can hear everything you're saying," he said in a singsong voice.
Pie felt his face heat up. The girl was looking at him quizzically.
"This is Noah," Windy said grandly. "It's his birthday today."
The girl smiled. "Hi, Noah. Happy birthday. I'm Rusty."
"Rusty?"
"Nickname," Windy explained. "'Cause of her hair."
Pie smiled and awkwardly took a seat next to her. They sat in strange silence for a few moments, punctuated only by sugar-hyped giggles from Race and Windy. He could only imagine the two of them when they finished their Slushie.
After a moment, Windy jumped up, holding Race's hand like there was no tomorrow.
"We're going to play Skeeball," she announced.
"We'll come with you." Rusty started to stand but Race held a hand up to stop her.
"Nah. There's only one lane open. We'll go first. You two stay here and…talk."
He whispered something to Windy's ear who giggled and nudged him with her hip, mumbling 'bad boy.' Then they bounced away, leaving Pie with this girl he had just met.
"Hi," he said gawkily. "So you're Windy's roommate…how's that working out for you?"
"It's fine if you don't mind Race in your room twenty-four hours a day."
"I can relate…he's my roommate."
To his surprise, she laughed.
"So whenever they're not in my room, they're in your room I take it?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Complete hell."
Rusty laughed again.
"They're a cute couple, though," she said once the laughter abated. "I wish I could have that some day."
He didn't bother to correct her but marveled at the fact that Windy managed to keep the fact that she and Race were only dating to fool his parents a secret from her own roommate.
"Yeah…" he said almost sullenly. "I think I'm just going to chuck it in with love."
Pie had no idea why he said it other than the fact that he didn't know her at all. She didn't know anything about her so, theoretically, telling her something personal would be the equivalent to speaking to a therapist.
"How come?" she knitted her brows in confusion.
"Well…I broke up with my boyfriend last week." He paused. "Well…he kind of broke up with me by screwing around with his roommate."
"Oh…you're gay?"
"Both."
"Oh. So you're a whore?" she asked.
If he had a drink, he'd probably spew it out. As it was, he choked on his own oxygen.
"What?"
"Isn't that what bisexuality is? Being so much of a whore, you'll sleep with anything?" The way she said it, so charming and innocent, it made him not pissed at her.
"No…it's loving both sexes."
"I think it's like driving down the median of the road. It's like, pick a lane already!" she laughed and Pie found himself laughing along with her.
Before he could say anything, a cry cut through the air.
"Race, goddamnit, I'm not betting on Skeeball!"
Rusty and Pie exchanged a bemused look before laughing again. Well, if they had any common ground, it was the fact that they found their respective roommates rather annoying.
Windy stomped over to them in a huff.
"Rusty, come on. Let's go. Race is being a 'tard."
Pie saw Race stick his tongue out at her over her shoulder and suppressed a laugh.
"Um…alright." She stood to get up, pulling on her jacket. "It was nice meeting you, Noah."
He gave a small wave. "Nice meeting you, too."
Then she surprised him. She leaned in and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"And happy birthday."