DISCLAIMER: -holds up Disney sign- I love Disney's boys....
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Skittery shivered as he climbed out of his warm bed that frozen morning as the Lodging house's owner, Mr. Kloppman, hollered at him and his fellow newsboys. The winter was stretching itself out into the long doldrums of January, February, and March, and no one was in a good mood, save Mush, who was always in a good mood.
Likewise, Snitch rolled off the other side of the same bed, and got teased like he did every morning.
"Ey Snitch," Mush asked, breaking the relative silence of the bunkroom with actual speech. "Lemme guess. You was runnin' from the bulls again, hid out in some alley, an didn't get back 'till all the beds was filled, right?"
Snitch nodded and tried to smile, rubbing his eyes and face. This lie was becoming even easier every day. It was easier to lie when you had someone to lie for you.
Skittery suddenly appeared behind Snitch, rubbing his own face in exactly the same manner as his friend. "Scram, you little piece a scum," he said playfully at Mush. "Yer, yer....." He yawned. "Too early." Mush smiled, but shut up.
In the relative darkness of the bunkroom, all you could hear were the random sounds of the newsies getting ready. Someone groaned and announced that the water pump was frozen, but it didn't matter anyway as it was so cold, none of the boys were willing to take their clothes off to wash.
As soon as Mush had wandered away from Snitch and Skittery and left them alone in the bunkroom, Snitch turned to look at Skittery. He was sitting on the rickety bunk, pulling his pants on a bit clumsily. Snitch's eyes wandered up and down Skittery's legs.
Yes, that lie was getting much easier.
Snitch sat down next to Skittery and was pulling his own pants on when a loud, pained sigh issued from the boy alongside him.
Snitch froze in mid-yank and looked over his shoulder at Skittery. "What is it, Skitt?" Skittery was wringing his hands, and paused a moment before answering.
"Snitch—," But at that moment, the troupe of cold, irritated newsboys exploded back into the bunkroom and Cowboy spotted them.
"'Ey, what you two bums doin in heah? Get ready, or there ain't gonna be no papes left for ya!" He slapped them both upside the head and followed the rest of the newsies down the stairs.
"Shit." Skittery was annoyed with the fact that he couldn't seem to put into words what he wanted to say, and even more vexed that it had made him late. He and Snitch quickly finished dressing in silence and had to run full speed through the snowy, icy streets to make it to the distribution center.
Snitch grabbed Skittery on the shoulder seconds before they would have been seen by the other newsies in the courtyard. "Skitt. What was ya sayin' b'fore they came 'n interrupted us?" As Skittery turned to look at him, Snitch saw that he was holding something back. He gave a quick look around to make sure no one could see them before he let his hand slip down Skittery's shoulder to his bare hand. Snitch lifted Skittery's hand and kissed his middle finger. "C'mon, Skitt. We swore we'd tell eachudda everyt'in."
Skittery, who had been staring into Snitch's eyes, looked for a moment at their joined hands before he yanked his away. Snitch looked surprised.
"Skitt—," Snitch moved to cup Skittery's face in his hands. Skittery pushed him away.
"No, Snitch. We… we shouldn't." Snitch was confused.
"But we've been—I thought… I thought we agreed that it's okay." Snitch's voice grew quiet while Skittery looked away. "Normal, ev'n."
Skittery couldn't bring himself to look Snitch in the eye. The one he had sworn his love to, the one that swore it right back to him. The one he'd sworn he'd be with forever.
"It's not that," Snitch looked up again and found himself staring at Skittery's moving jaw. He didn't dare relax, something was wrong. "I'm leaving." Skittery annunciated his words clearly.
Snitch was dumbfounded. He took a step back. "Wha… Whaddaya mean, leavin'?"
Skittery still didn't look at his friend. "Gettin' outta here." Skittery's speech faltered as he played with his fingernails, which were starting to bleed a little in the bitter cold. "Leavin' New Yawk."
Turning sharply so that Skittery wouldn't see the hurt look on his face, Snitched jogged up to the distribution center, and pretended he hadn't heard what he'd just heard. Skittery followed. This time it was Skittery who spun Snitch around, just as he had ordered his papes from Weasel.
"Did ya hear what I said?" Snitch looked right past Skittery. It was his natural reaction to things he didn't like. Just cut them off. "I gots a job. Some guy's gon' pay me to take his kids to tha country. Real rich guy. Alls I gotta do is make sure they don't get—"
"Hey, Pie!" Snitch grabbed his papers as soon as they slid out from under the bars and ran off to sell with Pie Eater.
Skittery watched him go, then turned on his heel, and walked out of the courtyard.
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That night, Snitch went up to bed early under the pretense of not feeling to well. He tucked himself all into a bunk and scooted to one side of it from habit. The warmth of the blankets relaxed him, and he concentrated on watching his breath steam out from his mouth and rise in little clouds of vapor.
His mind began to wander.
You shouldn't be mad at him. This is his chance. We's all gotta leave. You have no right to make him stay, when he could be livin' like a rich kid. Makin money.
He's leavin' me. Alone.
But you have no grounds to make him stay. What could you do that would justify makin' him stay in New York, workin' for pennies a day, livin' off scraps? Let 'im go, Snitch. Be happy for him.
But he just leaves me here? What am I supposed to do with him gone? Just—rot? He's my life. I can't live with out him. I want no one but him.
Don't you want him to be happy? He'll be happy and warm and fed and clothed…
But…
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A couple of nights later, he had not seen Skittery. He hadn't seen him at all after that one morning. Snitch lay in the bed in the corner, facing the wall as he did always, but felt that sleep would not come to him again this night.
No one was in the bunkroom yet. He had gone to bed early again.
As he stared at a crack in the wall, on his side of the bed as usual, it seemed he could hear Skittery's voice. "Ey, Snitch, are you okay? I never meant to leave you. But you scared me…"
Yes, Snitch thought, it's all my fault. He berated himself. He must have done something to push Skittery away. Why else would he leave?
A tear rolled down Snitch's cheek. He wiped it away with the blanket two seconds before the other newsies rolled into the bunkroom, arguing and yelling and laughing.
He wanted to roll over to see if Skittery was there, but he didn't want them to know he was awake. He didn't want to deal with them. And he didn't want to see them without his Skittery.
He listened for everyone's voices and counted them off in his mind. Cowboy, Jake, Itey, Mush, Blink. He listened and listened, but he didn't hear the voice of his newsy.
Suddenly, a wave of panic overtook Snitch, as it had the past few nights. I didn't say goodbye. I don't know where he's going; I'll never see him again!
Another tear squeezed its way out of his eye, and journeyed down his cheek to the bed. Snitch stared at the wall.
I should sleep, he thought.
But sleep would not come to the troubled newsy.
When Snitch could see the moon peek over the top of the window, he knew it to be about one in the morning. All of the other boys were asleep, some snoring loudly, others softly. Snitch realized he never noticed that the bunkroom was so noisy while they were sleeping. Someone was talking in his sleep, beds were creaking, wind was blowing…
It was no wonder he never heard someone creeping up the stairs, or entering into the room. He jumped when he felt someone lift up the other side of his blankets, and crawl into bed with him.
Snitch rolled over, and almost cried out with joy.
"Skittery!" His whisper was quelled by warm, slightly chapped lips being pressed to his, again and again.
Snitch felt tears of happiness flow out of his eyes. Skittery pulled away just long enough to laugh and then kissed Snitch's eyelids, tasting his salty tears.
"I's sorry, Snitch, ya thought I left for good! I ain't leaving for months, but I was so mad… ya didn't seem to care that I was leavin. Didn't seem proud or even mad or nothing!"
Snitch, who had been busy kissing the corners of Skittery's mouth, his nose, his forehead, anything he could reach, pulled away suddenly.
"So—so ya are leavin'?"
Skittery reached out for his newsy. "Snitch, please don' shut down on me again… I ain't told ya the best part. The guy I's leavin with, e' said e needed someone to take care a his sons."
"And he's gonna pay you enough money so ya can come back and wave it in front a us, and rub our faces in it? Is that it?" Snitch was backed up against the wall, sitting up now, whispering harshly. "You only care about the money, don't you?"
"No!" Skittery cried at him. He took Snitch's hands in his. "You don't und'astand. I tawked ta him, and told him I ain't goin alone. I told 'im, we's been best friends since we met, and I told 'im I an't goin anywhere widout you. But 'is wife liked me so much, she said that I could take ya! Said we'd be good for their sons… teach em how to be men." Skittery beamed proudly.
Snitch couldn't believe his ears. "You, you mean…"
"We's goin west! Tagether! Just us, the wagon driver, and twin boys… an' all we has ta do is keep em alive, and we get paid, get this…" Skittery lowered his voice. "Fifty-five dollars. Each." Snitch's mind reeled.
"Fifty…" He murmured.
Skittery smiled, and kissed Snitch.
"We leave 'n April. April the second."
Snitch just smiled.