Lost Without Each Other, a newsies fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Mush or any of the other newsboys in this fic. I do, however, own myself (Lida) and Cherry, and Jazz belongs to herself. "Drunk and Sweaty Irish Men" is a real song written by my little buddy Rusty and his friends Gage and Drake. The song "Lost Without Each Other" is by Hanson.

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Mush and Lida were walking hand in hand through Central Park. They talked and laughed, and whispered "I love you"s in between every kiss. He picked her up and spun her around. Lida giggled and kissed his chin. He held her and kissed her softly, "I love ya, Lide." She pulled back suddenly and started moving away from him.

"Mush?"

"Yeah, Doll," he smiled and reached for her.

"Mush?" She was just beyond his fingertips.

He stepped forward, "Yeah?"

"MUSH!" He sat bolt upright on his bunk and saw Blink standing on the floor next to him. "Sorry, didn't know you was sleepin'," Blink smirked and nodded his head toward Dutchy, Race, and Jake, "We'se goin' out. Gonna hunt up some goils. Wanna come?"

"Nah, you fellas go," he wiped his eyes groggily. "I'll just stay here-Get some shut eye."

Blink frowned, "No you ain't. You'se gonna sit here an' sulk ovah Rosie." Mush looked down and fidgeted with his suspenders. "You two been broke up for two weeks. Ya gotta quit thinkin' 'bout dat goil." Mush mumbled something under his breath and lay back down. He put his head underneath his pillow. Blink snatched it away, "What's dat?"

"I said, 'Eleven days'," he spoke without moving, "It ain't been two weeks, it's been eleven days. An' we ain't broke up, we'se just takin' a rest. Gimme back my pillow."

"Yeah, a permanent one," Blink laid the pillow back on top of Mush's head. "I guess she's real mad at ya. An' I'se sorry, it's partly my fault, but ya can't keep doin' dis ta yourself. C'mon out wit us. It'll do ya good."

"Yeah, c'mon, Mush," Jake jumped up on the bunk across from him, "ya been sittin' up here all by yourself evah since ya had dat fight wit Lida. Ya ain't hardly sold no papes neither, pretty soon Ol' Kloppah's gonna hafta put ya out. Ya need ta quit thinkin' 'bout it. Come out an' have a good time wit us." He jumped down and looked up at Mush. Race hollered for them to hurry, all the girls would be taken soon. "He's right, Blink. We bettah go."

"You sure ya don't wanna come?"

"No, Kid. Y'all go have fun," he sighed from under the pillow, "I'll be ok." Blink shrugged and headed toward the bunkroom door where the guys were waiting. Dutchy waved goodbye, even though Mush couldn't see him, and the quartet was gone.

Mush lay there and thought about Lida. He could almost picture her, half in tears, as he wobbled up to her and asked for a kiss. It was their second anniversary, and they had made plans to go out. He stood her up, totally forgot her, and went out with Blink. "Two whole years an' all it took for me ta ruin it was one night o' stupidity," he muttered to himself. "Of all nights ta go out an' get fall down drunk I hadta pick dat one." He sat up and looked around. The bunkroom was empty. It was Saturday night and everyone had gone out, either with their girl or to find one. "Dammit, dat goil loved me. I gotta fix it. I gotta-"

"Who ya talkin' to," Itey strode in, startling Mush.

"Nobody. What ya doin' back so early?"

Itey heaved himself onto the bunk he shared with Snitch, "Jazz wasn't in da mood ta be out tonight. Worried 'bout Lida, poor thing…" He caught himself and looked over at Mush, "Sorry, guess I shouldn't be sayin' nothin'."

"No, it's alright." Mush's heart panged, "Is- is she ok?"

Itey hesitated, but the look on Mush's face made him feel sorry for him, "Well, she says she is, but she looks miserable. She ain't hardly sold no papes, an' she ain't been ta work at Medda's at all." He looked over at Mush again, "You don't look no bettah. You been sleepin' any? I see ya layin' wide awake every night when I come home."

"Not much. I can't believe how dumb I was," Mush threw his head back and looked up at the ceiling. "You say she's hurtin'? Man, I ain't felt dis way since Mama died. An' dat at least went away once I got set up here." He sat up, "What da hell am I supposed ta do ta get rid o' dis?"

"I dunno. I'm sorry for ya both. C'mon, let's try an' get some sleep," Itey undressed and crawled into bed, "Hey, uh, don't tell Jazz I said anything to ya, k?"

"Sure."

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The next morning Mush got up and bought his papers. He halfheartedly tried to hawk the headlines, but they were no good and he couldn't get what Itey had told him out of his mind. Blink talked him into going to Tibby's for lunch, and as they were going in, Jazz and Cherry were leaving. Mush stopped Jazz and pulled her aside, "Hey, um, how's Lida doin'?"

"I don't think I should tell ya." She frowned, "Sorry, Mush, I just don't have nothin' ta say ta ya," she eyed him over, "'Cept you look terrible." She pushed past him and rejoined Cherry.

"Dat's it. I'm gonna fix dis thing. I gotta make it right."

That night he went to the girls' lodging house and waited for Lida. He saw her coming. She was with Jazz, and she looked tired. He tried to talk to her when she got close enough but Jazz got in between them. Lida turned, "I'm fine, Mush. Just leave me be."

"How can ya be fine? Ya look just as sad as I do."

"'Cause I said I was!" She burst into tears, "We're over. Please, just leave me be!" Jazz glared at him and took Lida inside.

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Mush ran to the side of the house and stood under the fire escape. He took a deep breath,

"I ran into your best friend today. Twelve nights since you ran away. I asked about you and she said, 'Can't say, can't say'. I'm feelin' lonely and it seems to stay. It's been a while since I felt that way. Well, I can tell there's no room to play this game.

"All I know is what I'm missin'. What I'm missin' is your kissin'. Are you listenin'?

"Don't go. Don't go tellin' me you're alright. There's no room for gettin' uptight. Don't go sayin' that you're ok, when you're lonely. Baby, don't go tellin' me we're over, when you know you're my one and only lover. And I won't go sayin' that we're ok, when we're lost without each other. 'Cause we're lost without each other. 'Cause we're lost without each other."

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"Who's dat nut yellin' down there," Jazz asked as she entered the bunkroom.

"It's Mush." Lida was sitting by the window in her nightgown, listening, "He sounds so sad."

"Desperate, if ya ask me," Cherry stuck her head out the window and looked down at him, "Ya think he's drunk again?"

"Dat ain't funny."

"No, but it wouldn't surprise me. He ain't never been dat good wit words before."

"He ain't drunk. An' you bettah watch yourself, I still love 'im an' I'm liable ta wallop ya one." Lida looked out the window. She missed him. A lot. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Oh no," Jazz stepped in front of her, "You gone two whole weeks witout 'im. Ya don't need 'im no more. Ya don't hafta put up wit dat bonehead no more. You just let 'im go. He'll give up soon enough and won't bother ya again."

"No! I want 'im ta bother me," she stood up, "I'm goin' down there."

Jazz sat her back down, "Lida Rose Keller, dat boy ain't worth it. He knowed how ya father was, he knowed ya can't hardly trust promises, an' he went out an' broke almost ev'ry promise he evah made ta ya anyways. He nevah even told ya he loved ya. You just forget 'im."

"I love 'im, Jazz. I know he loves me. He wouldn't be out there if he didn't."

"Ain't nobody home? Ya been walkin' 'round here like you'se all helpless for da last two weeks, on his account, an' you'se sittin' here sayin' ya love 'im. What da hell is wrong wit ya?"

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Mush paused for a second and saw someone stick her head out the window. It wasn't Lida, but if that girl was listening, maybe she was too.

"I didn't mean to start the last big fight. I never should have stood you up that night. All I wanna do is make things right, make it right. Listen, with all the choices that we chose to make and all the promises we chose to break, we were busy makin' big mistakes, yesterday.

"All I know is what I'm missin'. What I'm missin' is your kissin'. Are you listenin'?

"Don't go. Don't go tellin' me you're alright. There's no room for getting uptight. Don't go sayin' that you're ok, when you're lonely. Baby, don't go tellin' me we're over, when you know you're my one and only lover. And I won't go sayin' that we're ok, when we're lost without-

"I can tell you one thing, we're not better on our own. I'm tired of runnin' from my feelin's. Are you listenin?

"Are you listenin'?"

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"I love 'im. He's da only fella I evah been wit or cared about, an' I don't know what ta do wit myself when he ain't around. He's down there pourin' his heart out, sayin' he's sorry. I miss 'im in da worst way, Jazz, an' I'm goin' down ta 'im."

"Dat boy stood ya up on your two year anniversary, got drunk wit his friends, an' den come here singin' some 'Drunk an' Sweaty Irish Men'. All along, he had no thought o' you in his head."

"Dat coulda easily been Itey. Would ya forget 'im as quick as I'm supposed ta forget Mush?"

"Maybe not, but I'd sure as hell try."

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"All I know is what I'm missin'. What I'm missin' is your kissin'. Are you listenin'?

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"I'm goin' down there," Lida shoved Jazz out of her way and swung her bare feet out onto the fire escape. She flew down two stories in no time and Mush was waiting to catch her at the bottom.

He spun her around and kissed her cheek, "I love ya, Lide."

"I love ya, too, Mush."

"Let's not do dis again, no mattah what."

She giggled and kissed his chin, "We'll see." He spun her around again and kissed her gently on the lips.

'Cause we're lost without each other…

We're lost without each other.

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So whatcha think? Like it? R&R!!

Note: The line "I never should have stood you up that night" was originally "You never should have hung up that night," but since there are no telephones in Newsieland I changed it to fit the story. Guys, don't sue me.