AN: This is a Battery Park fic and I wanted to get this up for all to read. I hope you like it and I hope it's kind of a good story.
"Piper, come on you've gotta get up!" a voice said into my ear. It's not that I wasn't a morning person it's that I don't like to get up all the time, and this was one of those times. The weekend had come and I finally didn't have to get up early and sell papers, so I was taking my sweet time getting up until a stupid ignoramus had to come and attempt to get me up. "Piper, it's late you need to get up now or you won't sleep a wink tonight."
"Who the hell are you?!"
"I'll tell you only if you get up."
"This is my one fuckin' day of freedom and you want me to get up and talk with you? You've gotta be out of your mind!" I said turning over and facing the other side. The voice in my head could wait, I was tired and I wanted sleep.
Without warning my mattress, which was thankfully on the bottom of the bunk, was tipped out of the bed throwing me on the floor. My arms covered my head quickly as I rolled close to the next bed. Enraged I jumped up to see who had done such a stupid thing. Going around my bed I saw a tall boy with semi long blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. His smile made me laugh when I saw him and ran to give him a hug.
"How are you?"
"I'm good; I thought you'd want to see me." He said with a laugh.
"Yeah! I can't believe you took this long to come see me." I told him hitting his arm slightly. He smiled and rubbed my hair.
"I'm here now aren't I?"
"Yeah. Let me change and we can do stuff, I don't have to sell today." He winked and I ran to a changing stall coming back out in my worn trousers and a blue shirt. Smiling her wrapped his arm around me and we set off down stairs.
New York was beautiful on Sunday, not to many people worked due to church, and you could go almost anywhere without running into a cop. We walked in silence letting the streets take us where they went and show us what they wanted us to see. After a while we came to a graveyard that made my eyes well with tears, it was Nathanael's graveyard.
"Why?" he asked me when I turned around to leave.
"I haven't been here since the funeral, he wouldn't understand why I haven't come he just wouldn't.
"I was a good friend of yours when you were a kid, I knew Nate, and he would want you to come visit him, even if you don't think he wants you to."
"Dutchy, I can't do that." I said walking faster to get away from that site, from the memories.
I sat down on a bench and waited for the sun to set, I couldn't talk to him again and I certainly couldn't go to see Nathanael. There was no place to go until the sun had gone down and the day was done. This is the life of a street rat, wake up, walk around all day doing something, sleep. That was all I had to look forward to now a days. A cool wind blew sending shivers down my back but I stayed fighting the cold and the tears.
"I'm sorry," he said finally finding me, "I didn't know that you didn't like to see him."
"Yes you did, I told you the last time you tried to get me to go there. It didn't work then it won't work now." I spat at him.
"Do you remember what our parents used to say?" he asked, yes of course I remembered but what did that have to do with anything. "They always said to keep smiling even when you fall, keep laughing even when you cry and keep going forward for good times are to come. I know for a fact that Nathanael would want you to go see him."
"They also told me not to worry that they'd figure a way out to feed us all, but look at where that got me."
"Don't do that Piper." He said with a slight frown. I knew it had been my choice to live on the streets as was his but I wanted someone to blame for my life. Sighing I got up and turned to him.
"I'm going to leave you here, and I don't want you to follow me I need to be alone." I told him heading down the street. Twisting and turning I finally found myself back at the grave yard and slowly padded over to his grave. I could still see foot prints of where I stood at the funeral although they were faint. There were fresh flowers meaning my mom and dad had been here. In the flowers I found a note apparently to Nate. Nathanael we want you to know that we miss you so much. Please keep and eye out for your sister she really needs you. Love, mom and dad.
Kneeling down I looked at the tombstone and its epitaph. I'd picked it out myself and I was proud of how profound I'd been in my younger years. For he was loved in life he will be loved in death. God bless him, keep him safe and may he smile, laugh and have fun as he'd had on earth. Those words made me smile as I knew that he would be smiling and laughing like he always was when he was with us.
"I'm glad you came."
"I told you to leave me alone; do you not understand a word that comes out of my mouth?"
"I'm sorry but I wanted to make sure that you got back home safely, New York's not the safest place to live."
"Yeah I know I live here." I reminded him. He smiled and kneeled down by me. Putting an arm around me he gave me a hug of comfort, one that I desperately needed.
"Come on lets get you home." He said helping me up. We walked in silence down the street. As the lodging house came into sight and sighed a little in relief and a little in sadness. "I'll visit more often, I promise."
"Yeah right." I said walking into the Battery Park Lodging house with a slight smile on my face.
"Who was that?" Glory asked me. Smiling I replied with a simple: "A friend." Walking up the stairs and back into the bunkroom I found my bed and hopped into it falling to sleep to await the awakening tomorrow and the same old call Carry the Banner.
