A.N.—thanks to everyone! Thank you amazing-moth for being so supportive of
everything, and to star-song and Amanda for being so extremely faithful to
the runaway cause!!! I have no clue how close this is to being finished,
but hey… what can I say? Oh well…
Well, this is chapter 14. What's going on??? I don't know… I really can't tell anyone what's going on in my head….
One more thing… I'm taking a poll. Why are boys so power hungry? Is it something that they're born with or does it magically appear in most of them around the age of… 2??? Who knows… if anyone has an answer to this, feel free to tell me!
Thanks again!
1 Chapter 14
Ashley was sitting in Central Park on the little bridge. Her feet were dangling over the sides and she was singing. The air was clean, the sky was blue and no clouds were in sight. In the distance one could see birds flying freely, singing themselves. The whole of New York seemed to be in blissful harmony. People passed Ashley by and smiled at her as she sat there, her mind oblivious to everything but the rippling current softly moving her feet.
A noise made her look up. Skittery was standing on the bank of the stream, only a few feet away, skipping rocks across the surface of the water. His head was down, not allowing Ashley to see his expression. She caught her breath at the sight of his hair gleaming under the sunlight. She had to stop singing.
This sudden silence made Skittery look up. His eyes met with hers and he slowly made his way over to where she was sitting. He sat down next to her and opened his mouth to speak, but no words would form. He tried to sing and found that it worked, and the two of them sat there singing, holding each other's hands and looking at the reflection of the sunlight on the water. Suddenly, Skittery stopped singing and started to tap the wood of the bridge.
Tap, tap, tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap.
Ashley sat up and rubbed her eyes. She saw Sarah and Icy do the same.
"What time is it?" Ashley mumbled sleepily.
""I dunno," Icy said, "and whoever woke me up is gonna get it!"
Ashley realized that the sound in her dream was real. Someone was tapping on the window. It was getting louder and more frequent. Sarah grabbed the sheet and gathered it against herself. "I'm scared," she whispered.
"Well, we need ta see who it is," Icy whispered. "Besdies, what could happen? If a person tries ta hiot us, all we'se gotta do is scream. C'mon, open da window."
"No, I can't!" Sarah whimpered. "I'm too scared. I want David. I want Jack. I don't know who I want!"
"Oh, c'mon, Sarah, stop being such a baby," Ashley said fiercely. The tapping had stopped momentarily. She peered out the curtain. "Oh my gosh!"
"What?!" Sarah and Icy jumped up and bounded over to the window. They all peeked out. The three of them were so busy trying to see outside that they didn't hear the door open behind them.
"What's going on?' a voice came from behind them. The girls jumped and turned around in record time.
"DAVEY!" Icy whispered, her breath ragged. "What da heck do ya t'ink you'se is doing? Scarin' us an' all?"
"It's 2 in the morning, I heard noises, and I heard you guys walking around. I thought something might be wrong."
"There's someone that was tapping at my window," Sarah said, running over to her brother and wrapping her arms around his waist. "We got scared and Ashley looked out the window, and then Icy and I did, but we couldn't see what Ashley saw."
"Well, I'm going to go check it out," David said. His face showed his emotions perfectly. He looked angry and irritated. "No one is going to scare my sister and our friends half-way out of their minds."
He walked quickly over to the window. Only then did the girls notice that he wasn't wearing anything except for his pants and an undershirt. Sarah's face turned scarlet and she hastily muttered an apology to Ashley and Icy.
"Don't worry about it," Ashley said. "I've known David since we were in diapers."
"Yeah," Icy put in. "Besides, Ashley's been livin' in da Lodgin' House wit' da boys for a while, an' I'se is lived wit' dem all my life ovah in Brooklyn."
"Hey, you girls, come over here," David said from the window. The girls started walking over slowly, linking their arms together. The window was open and a soft breeze filled the room. It was cold and made Ashley's arms prickle with goosebumps.
David was talking softly to someone on the fire escape. The girls gasped with recognition when they saw who it was.
"Race!"
Racetrack looked up. "Hey, I'se gotta tell ya somethin', Ashley and Icy. By da way, Mush an' Blink are down dere. Can ya goils come out heah?"
"Not in our nightgowns, ya dope!" Icy whispered.
"Since when do ya weah a nightgown?" race questioned.
"Since Sarah was nice enough ta let me use one!"
"Fine, fine. But ya can't let dis get out ta any adults, it'd just make it worse," Race said nervously, twisting his hat in his hands.
"What's going on?" Sarah queried.
"Oh, hey, Sarah," he said, glancing at her momentarily, then turning back to Ashley and Icy. "Not much, but it's big. Da t'ing is, ya can't come back to da lodgin' house, any lodgin' house, heah, Brooklyn, Midtown, da Bronx… anywheah is off-limits ta you goils now."
"Heck, I don't care if I'se is in a night gown, I'm gonna soak the jerk who's gonna try ta enforce dat on me!" Icy said. Ashley and Sarah had to hold her back from climbing out the window.
"C'mon, Icy, calm down," David said. "Listen to what he has to say."
"See, um… dang it! I can't say it! I can't tell ya!" Race looked vulnerable for the first time in a while. "It's too horrible."
"C'mon, Race, ya gotta tell us what's goin' on," Ashley pleaded, slipping back into the voice to which she had become so accustomed in the past few months. "If ya don't, I'm gonna go right down to da lodgin' house RIGHT NOW and see what's goin' on, even if I have ta risk wakin' Jack up an' experiencing his… tempah. And ya know I will."
"Yeah, yeah, ok. Fine." Race looked around nervously. "Can ya sneak out heah for a few minutes?"
"Just a second," Sarah and David said at the same time, then pulled Ashley and Icy into the room.
"Ok," David said, "it's late and everyone's tired, but I think that you girls need to hear what Race has to say. It makes a lot of sense and it's going to keep you safe, all of us, cause like it or not, Sarah, we're in this too." Sarah's face registered slight shock as the full impact hit her. David went on. "I'm going to let you two girls go outside. The only catch is this. You have to let Sarah and me come with you, and I don't think you'll really have a problem with that."
"Nah, no problem dere," Icy said. "Got any problems wit' dat, Ash?"
"Nah, not really. Ok, dat's fine, David," Ashley said.
"Ok, then, let's go. But, girls, get a sweater or something."
The girls all grabbed a blanket each.
When they climbed out the window, the 4 teens saw that Blink and Mush had joined Race on the fire escape.
"Hey, dere," Icy said. "What's goin' on dat's so important dat ya have ta wake us up at 2 a.m.?"
"Dey took Boots!" Mush blurted out.
"What?!?" Ashley's and Icy's jaws dropped wide open.
"Yeah, Benny came in an' started yellin', an' da boys wit' 'im grabbed boots before he could react and' took 'im away. Dey kidnapped 'im!"
"An' you boys just stood dere an' let 'im get away wit' dat?" Icy demanded, clearly furious.
"Of course not! We tried fightin' back, but dere were too many of dem," Mush said. "It was horrible, an' dey hoit Jack an' Skitttery, cause—"
"Shut up, Mush!" Blink burst in.
"What…" Ashley said.
"What did he say?" Sarah asked.
"Da boys was standin' up for ya two goils. Benny was t'reatening ta hoit ya goils an' hunt ya down an' stuff, an' calling ya names an' well, Skittery threw a punch at Benny. Den quicksilver jumped in an' tried ta hoit Skittery, tried ta get 'im off, an' Jack jumped in an' tried ta knock quicksilver down an' it just got out of hand cause da boys on Benny's side were all big an' MEAN," Race explained. "So now ya goils can't come back to da lodgin' houses cause it's too dangerous. Benny has posts everywheah."
"QUICKSILVER was involved wit' dis! I'm gonna kill 'im, I'm gonna run ovah dere an' kill 'im! Dat lousy, no-good ex-boyfriend!" Icy was standing, her blanket forgotten on the ground.
"Ex?" Blink asked, confused.
"Yeah," Icy said, "he broke up wit' me tonight, an' in a LETTER, da coward, an' told me dat 'e couldn't be involved wit' me cause 'e needed ta have more security dan dat!"
"Oh, wow…" Race said. "I'm sorry."
"Aw, shut up, ya little boy," Icy snapped. Race looked hurt for a brief moment, but then spoke.
"Well, ya goils just needed ta know dat, so I guess we'll say our goodbyes now. It was nice getting' ta know ya, Lucky. Icy, I'm sure we'll see ya latah sometime. I mean, spot's youse cousin."
"Ya make it sound like we'se is nevah gonna see each othah again," Ashley said. "C'mon, dis'll end soon. Benny can only hold out so long, right?"
"Sure, kid," Race said, winking at her.
The sun was starting to rise.
"Wow, I didn't realize dat is was getting so late out heah," Race said. "We'se gotta go. Bye."
The 3 boys hugged the three girls, and shook David's hand. As they started to walk down the fire escape and back to the Lodging House, Ashley turned around and yelled after them. "How's Skittery?"
"He's gonna make it, don't worry. He'll be fine," Race said with a smile. "I'll tell 'im dat ya asked about 'im!"
"What? Oh, um…" Ashley blushed to the roots of her hair.
Race laughed and walked away.
Ashley turned to climb back into Sarah's room. The others were already there and started laughing.
"Girl, you've got it bad!"
Well, this is chapter 14. What's going on??? I don't know… I really can't tell anyone what's going on in my head….
One more thing… I'm taking a poll. Why are boys so power hungry? Is it something that they're born with or does it magically appear in most of them around the age of… 2??? Who knows… if anyone has an answer to this, feel free to tell me!
Thanks again!
1 Chapter 14
Ashley was sitting in Central Park on the little bridge. Her feet were dangling over the sides and she was singing. The air was clean, the sky was blue and no clouds were in sight. In the distance one could see birds flying freely, singing themselves. The whole of New York seemed to be in blissful harmony. People passed Ashley by and smiled at her as she sat there, her mind oblivious to everything but the rippling current softly moving her feet.
A noise made her look up. Skittery was standing on the bank of the stream, only a few feet away, skipping rocks across the surface of the water. His head was down, not allowing Ashley to see his expression. She caught her breath at the sight of his hair gleaming under the sunlight. She had to stop singing.
This sudden silence made Skittery look up. His eyes met with hers and he slowly made his way over to where she was sitting. He sat down next to her and opened his mouth to speak, but no words would form. He tried to sing and found that it worked, and the two of them sat there singing, holding each other's hands and looking at the reflection of the sunlight on the water. Suddenly, Skittery stopped singing and started to tap the wood of the bridge.
Tap, tap, tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap.
Ashley sat up and rubbed her eyes. She saw Sarah and Icy do the same.
"What time is it?" Ashley mumbled sleepily.
""I dunno," Icy said, "and whoever woke me up is gonna get it!"
Ashley realized that the sound in her dream was real. Someone was tapping on the window. It was getting louder and more frequent. Sarah grabbed the sheet and gathered it against herself. "I'm scared," she whispered.
"Well, we need ta see who it is," Icy whispered. "Besdies, what could happen? If a person tries ta hiot us, all we'se gotta do is scream. C'mon, open da window."
"No, I can't!" Sarah whimpered. "I'm too scared. I want David. I want Jack. I don't know who I want!"
"Oh, c'mon, Sarah, stop being such a baby," Ashley said fiercely. The tapping had stopped momentarily. She peered out the curtain. "Oh my gosh!"
"What?!" Sarah and Icy jumped up and bounded over to the window. They all peeked out. The three of them were so busy trying to see outside that they didn't hear the door open behind them.
"What's going on?' a voice came from behind them. The girls jumped and turned around in record time.
"DAVEY!" Icy whispered, her breath ragged. "What da heck do ya t'ink you'se is doing? Scarin' us an' all?"
"It's 2 in the morning, I heard noises, and I heard you guys walking around. I thought something might be wrong."
"There's someone that was tapping at my window," Sarah said, running over to her brother and wrapping her arms around his waist. "We got scared and Ashley looked out the window, and then Icy and I did, but we couldn't see what Ashley saw."
"Well, I'm going to go check it out," David said. His face showed his emotions perfectly. He looked angry and irritated. "No one is going to scare my sister and our friends half-way out of their minds."
He walked quickly over to the window. Only then did the girls notice that he wasn't wearing anything except for his pants and an undershirt. Sarah's face turned scarlet and she hastily muttered an apology to Ashley and Icy.
"Don't worry about it," Ashley said. "I've known David since we were in diapers."
"Yeah," Icy put in. "Besides, Ashley's been livin' in da Lodgin' House wit' da boys for a while, an' I'se is lived wit' dem all my life ovah in Brooklyn."
"Hey, you girls, come over here," David said from the window. The girls started walking over slowly, linking their arms together. The window was open and a soft breeze filled the room. It was cold and made Ashley's arms prickle with goosebumps.
David was talking softly to someone on the fire escape. The girls gasped with recognition when they saw who it was.
"Race!"
Racetrack looked up. "Hey, I'se gotta tell ya somethin', Ashley and Icy. By da way, Mush an' Blink are down dere. Can ya goils come out heah?"
"Not in our nightgowns, ya dope!" Icy whispered.
"Since when do ya weah a nightgown?" race questioned.
"Since Sarah was nice enough ta let me use one!"
"Fine, fine. But ya can't let dis get out ta any adults, it'd just make it worse," Race said nervously, twisting his hat in his hands.
"What's going on?" Sarah queried.
"Oh, hey, Sarah," he said, glancing at her momentarily, then turning back to Ashley and Icy. "Not much, but it's big. Da t'ing is, ya can't come back to da lodgin' house, any lodgin' house, heah, Brooklyn, Midtown, da Bronx… anywheah is off-limits ta you goils now."
"Heck, I don't care if I'se is in a night gown, I'm gonna soak the jerk who's gonna try ta enforce dat on me!" Icy said. Ashley and Sarah had to hold her back from climbing out the window.
"C'mon, Icy, calm down," David said. "Listen to what he has to say."
"See, um… dang it! I can't say it! I can't tell ya!" Race looked vulnerable for the first time in a while. "It's too horrible."
"C'mon, Race, ya gotta tell us what's goin' on," Ashley pleaded, slipping back into the voice to which she had become so accustomed in the past few months. "If ya don't, I'm gonna go right down to da lodgin' house RIGHT NOW and see what's goin' on, even if I have ta risk wakin' Jack up an' experiencing his… tempah. And ya know I will."
"Yeah, yeah, ok. Fine." Race looked around nervously. "Can ya sneak out heah for a few minutes?"
"Just a second," Sarah and David said at the same time, then pulled Ashley and Icy into the room.
"Ok," David said, "it's late and everyone's tired, but I think that you girls need to hear what Race has to say. It makes a lot of sense and it's going to keep you safe, all of us, cause like it or not, Sarah, we're in this too." Sarah's face registered slight shock as the full impact hit her. David went on. "I'm going to let you two girls go outside. The only catch is this. You have to let Sarah and me come with you, and I don't think you'll really have a problem with that."
"Nah, no problem dere," Icy said. "Got any problems wit' dat, Ash?"
"Nah, not really. Ok, dat's fine, David," Ashley said.
"Ok, then, let's go. But, girls, get a sweater or something."
The girls all grabbed a blanket each.
When they climbed out the window, the 4 teens saw that Blink and Mush had joined Race on the fire escape.
"Hey, dere," Icy said. "What's goin' on dat's so important dat ya have ta wake us up at 2 a.m.?"
"Dey took Boots!" Mush blurted out.
"What?!?" Ashley's and Icy's jaws dropped wide open.
"Yeah, Benny came in an' started yellin', an' da boys wit' 'im grabbed boots before he could react and' took 'im away. Dey kidnapped 'im!"
"An' you boys just stood dere an' let 'im get away wit' dat?" Icy demanded, clearly furious.
"Of course not! We tried fightin' back, but dere were too many of dem," Mush said. "It was horrible, an' dey hoit Jack an' Skitttery, cause—"
"Shut up, Mush!" Blink burst in.
"What…" Ashley said.
"What did he say?" Sarah asked.
"Da boys was standin' up for ya two goils. Benny was t'reatening ta hoit ya goils an' hunt ya down an' stuff, an' calling ya names an' well, Skittery threw a punch at Benny. Den quicksilver jumped in an' tried ta hoit Skittery, tried ta get 'im off, an' Jack jumped in an' tried ta knock quicksilver down an' it just got out of hand cause da boys on Benny's side were all big an' MEAN," Race explained. "So now ya goils can't come back to da lodgin' houses cause it's too dangerous. Benny has posts everywheah."
"QUICKSILVER was involved wit' dis! I'm gonna kill 'im, I'm gonna run ovah dere an' kill 'im! Dat lousy, no-good ex-boyfriend!" Icy was standing, her blanket forgotten on the ground.
"Ex?" Blink asked, confused.
"Yeah," Icy said, "he broke up wit' me tonight, an' in a LETTER, da coward, an' told me dat 'e couldn't be involved wit' me cause 'e needed ta have more security dan dat!"
"Oh, wow…" Race said. "I'm sorry."
"Aw, shut up, ya little boy," Icy snapped. Race looked hurt for a brief moment, but then spoke.
"Well, ya goils just needed ta know dat, so I guess we'll say our goodbyes now. It was nice getting' ta know ya, Lucky. Icy, I'm sure we'll see ya latah sometime. I mean, spot's youse cousin."
"Ya make it sound like we'se is nevah gonna see each othah again," Ashley said. "C'mon, dis'll end soon. Benny can only hold out so long, right?"
"Sure, kid," Race said, winking at her.
The sun was starting to rise.
"Wow, I didn't realize dat is was getting so late out heah," Race said. "We'se gotta go. Bye."
The 3 boys hugged the three girls, and shook David's hand. As they started to walk down the fire escape and back to the Lodging House, Ashley turned around and yelled after them. "How's Skittery?"
"He's gonna make it, don't worry. He'll be fine," Race said with a smile. "I'll tell 'im dat ya asked about 'im!"
"What? Oh, um…" Ashley blushed to the roots of her hair.
Race laughed and walked away.
Ashley turned to climb back into Sarah's room. The others were already there and started laughing.
"Girl, you've got it bad!"