A/N: Okay, here it is. My first fic. I actually turned this in as a story we had to right for school and got an A! Believe it or not, my literature teacher has seen Newsies too. I hope you guys like. Don't forget to review, review, review!

Friends from Afar

Crutchy opened his eyes as he heard Kloppman coming up the stairs to wake all the newsies. They all soon got up and began to wash and dress at the sound of Kloppman's yells. Crutchy got up, grabbed his crutch from the side of his bed, and walked over to the sink to wash his face. As he splashed his face with water, he looked in the mirror and noticed that Racetrack, another newsy, sitting on a bed by himself. This was unusual, especially for Racetrack who was loud and talkative and usually liked to be in the thick of things. The other newsboys hadn't noticed a thing and had already gone downstairs.

Crutchy frowned out of curiosity. What was going on?

"Race?" He didn't appear to have heard him. "Race?" Crutchy limped over to where Racetrack was sitting. "Race? Are you okay?" He tapped Racetrack lightly on the shoulder. Racetrack jumped and looked around.

"Wha-? Oh, yeah. I'se gotta' get goin'." He then grabbed his cigar from a nearby nightstand and took off through the door.

The day went by slowly. That was mostly because it was the middle of July so everything seemed ten times slower then usual due to the sweltering heat. Crutchy was finding it hard to concentrate on selling his papers that day which was mainly due to what he had seen that morning. Something strange had been going on with Racetrack and he was determined to find out what it was. Crutchy was so deep in his thoughts that he wasn't watching where he was going. He bumped straight into Jack, another newsy and good friend of his.

"Sorry, Jack. Wasn't watchin' where I was goin'," he sqeaked quietly.

"Dat's okay, Crutchy, just make sure ta stay out of my sellin' spot!" Jack laughed.

"Yeah, sure," Crutchy said distractedly, not really listening at all.

Christopher Morris and Anthony Higgins were the closest friends at the orphanage in the Bronx. Both were devilish troublemakers and sweet little angels at the same time. The nuns who ran the orphanage had always given them beatings and lectures when they had been caught doing things they knew they were caught misbehaving, but overall, the nuns were quite fond of them.

Anthony, a boy of Italian descent, was smaller with dark hair and high cheekbones and a knack for gambling. Christopher, who was Irish, was tall and skinny with big ears and dark auburn hair and had a small, sweet smile that just made you melt. Anthony was the more daring of the two, but Christopher had the bigger heart and together they made quiet a pair. They were so close you would have thought they were brothers. You never saw one without the other. Not until the accident, at least.

That night all the newsies had dinner together at Tibby's, for it was Mush's birthday and everyone had pitched in to help by him a nice dinner.

"I feel like some tightwad!" he mumbled with a mouthfull of food. Though, it didn't seem to bother him. He had mashed potatoes at the corner of his mouth and he was gulping down is milk like there was no tomorrow. All the newsies laughed, even Racetrack, who had been quiet all day. Crutchy wasn't convinced though. He could tell Racetrack was just itching to leave. Crutchy watched as he pulled a cigar from his shirt pocket and lit it.

"Figuring out what he's up to might take a while,"Crutchy thought, "but it's gotta' be worth it. I've neva' seen him act like this before."He quickly finished his soup and decided if Racetrack wasn't acting normally by the end of the week, he would ask him about it. What he would say, he had no idea, but he didn't really want to think about it. Racetrack didn't like to show any bit of emotion to anybody and Crutchy didn't want to be the one to ask him to.

The next few days were just the same if not worse. Racetrack was barely talking at all now and some of the other newsies were beginning to notice. Kid Blink, another newsy with blond hair and an eye patch, came over to talk to Crutchy to ask him about it.

"Crutchy, you noticed Race lately? He's been actin' strange for da past few days. Do ya know anythin'?" he asked. He spoke in a whisper as though to make sure he couldn't be overheard, even though all the other newsies were downstairs.

Crutchy shook his head. "Sorry."

Kid Blink sighed and replied, "I don't know what's up with him. I suppose we should just wait 'till he shakes it off." He shrugged and walked away. Crutchy watched him go and then turned around to look at the bed next to his. Racetrack was sitting there, reading the day's newspaper. Crutchy sighed. There wasn't anything else to do about it. He took a deep breath and-

"Race?"

Racetrack looked up. "Yeah, Crutchy?"

"I, uh, well, uh..." he stammered. This was harder then he thought it would be. "You haven't been ya'self lately an' I was wonderin' if yous was okay." His words spilled out of him in a great rush. Crutchy blushed as Racetrack's face hardened.

"Nah, I'm fine. No worse den usual, I guess." He smiled but it was a fake, strained smile. Then he went back to reading his paper. Crutchy continued to watch him and wasn't surprised to see that Racetrack's eyes weren't moving across the paper, but rather staring blankly in the same spot. He was in the same reverie as the previous week. Crutchy had only known Racetrack since he had become a newsy, but he had always felt a strange connection to him somehow.

He looked at the clock. It was already quarter to ten! He'd think more about this tomorrow. He quickly changed his clothes and went to bed.