Boom bada boom,
I hath arrived a day late with a shitty Christmas one-shot that's just called Christmas because I am not very good at naming things.
There are parts of this story that I really like and parts of it that I hate with my entire heart.
Anyways reviews time:
VeronicaWeasley: AAAH I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT! Your guesses are very good, very good indeed. I'm not gonna tell you which one it is, that would take away the fun, wouldn't it? :)
Newsies Square: (chapter 6): Don't worry about not reading it earlier! Seeing how you were doing while I posted these chapters I really can't blame you. Calling out your thoughts was really just me projecting my own thoughts, so I guess are thoughts are quite similar. (chapter 7) Those were all the things I was trying to accomplish with the story so I'm glad that worked out.
Christmas
Sniffles never really enjoyed Christmas. It wasn't because he disliked the religious parts, or because he hated social gatherings. In fact, he could really enjoy both of those things. Sniffles disliked Christmas because of memories. Memories of his mother crying by the fire, waiting for his father to come home. Memories of hospital rooms. Memories of receiving the news his father would never return, and memories of almost freezing to death. Sure, there were good memories, but often the bad ones simply overshadowed them.
Not only did memories play a role, but so did his health. With his immune system being absolute shit Sniffles couldn't go outside. No matter how much he wished to see the Christmas lights in the city and to create snow angels, he couldn't risk it. Maybe, if he could have afforded a scarf, or a proper coat, he would have been able to, but as a newsboy who couldn't even work most of the time he didn't earn enough for that.
All he could do was watch as the other boys went outside and had fun. As they sold their papers and fooled around. He chuckled when he saw Albert hit Race in the face with a snowball.
"Hey, Sniffs?" Sniffles turned around and saw Specs standing next to him.
"Yeah?"
"What's yer favorite color?"
Sniffles turned his head sideways like a confused puppy. "What do you mean?"
"What's yer favorite color? I kinda always assumed it was red, 'cause most a' the things in yer room are, but I never really asked."
"No, it's red…. why?"
"No reason, I was just curious. Bye!" He waved and ran away again.
Sniffles didn't think much of it at the time. He'd lived with the newsboys for about a year now, he was used to how weird they could be sometimes. Elmer for example always had lemon sweets with him, and offered them at the most random times. One time Albert had asked him what his favorite type of cheese was, and had then walked away without explanation. He actually quite enjoyed the chaos. He found it was much more fun than the organized ways in his previous home.
Deciding to not bring his mood down any more by looking at the others having fun, Sniffles walked upstairs to his room. He grabbed one of his notebooks and started writing. He wrote until he fell asleep.
When he woke up that next morning, he felt surprisingly well. Getting out of bed wasn't as hard as it usually was, and as he walked downstairs, still in his pajamas, he could hear cheery voices from downstairs.
"Sniffles! Come quick, there's a huge present for ya!" Elmer dragged him into the living room.
"For me?"
"Well, it has 'Sniffles' written on it, so I don' think it's for Henry."
Entering the living room, Sniffles was met with bright yellow lights and loud voices everywhere.
"RACE, THAT ONE CLEARLY HAS MY NAME ON IT, GIVE IT BACK!" Albert shouted, chasing Race across the living room, almost knocking over the Christmas tree on his way. Race, Jack, Crutchie, Specs, and Henry were already sitting next to it, wrapping paper scattered around them.
"ELMER KESPRZAKE, THANK YOU!" Jack jumped up, and attacked Elmer in a hug.
"That's not how you pronounce my name, but you're welcome." Elmer grinned as he pulled away. "Do da pencils work?"
"Haven't checked 'em yet, but I'm sure they's amazing!" Jack ran back over to the tree where Crutchie was surrounded by stuffed animals, and Specs was looking through a new book. Sniffles walked over and sat down.
"Thanks for the book, Sniffs," Specs smiled as he put aside the book.
"It's just secondhand, I'm sorry…."
"Why would I give a crap 'bout that? It's from you an' that's what matters."
"I guess."
"Go on, open your present!" Crutchie pushed a huge box in Sniffles' direction.
Slowly, and carefully, Sniffles removed the wrapping paper.
"Aw, c'mon! You're one a' those people?"
"Race, shut up and let him open his present without you pesterin' him!" Henry pushed Race away.
Sniffles' jaw dropped when he lifted the lid from the box. Inside was a big, red, coat. As he pulled the coat out of the box a scarf and a pair of gloves fell out of it.
"I…."
"We didn't want ya ta miss out on all the fun stuff outside, so we all put together some money and-" Specs was interrupted by Sniffles attacking him in a tight hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sniffles pulled away and looked around. "Can… can we go outside now?" He asked.
"Of course! The otha' guys should arrive any minute now, so we shouldn't go too far. Give us all a moment ta get ready!" Jack exclaimed. He clapped his hands as a sign for everyone to get ready. Soon Sniffles was standing outside.
He was standing outside.
He looked up at the sky and a snowflake fell onto his nose. He suddenly felt a wave of joy fall over him. Laughing, he danced around, kicking the snow, and eventually falling into it. He looked up again. It was cold, his nose was freezing, and there were snowflakes on his eyelashes.
He loved it.
"Sniffles! Do ya wanna help build a snowman?" Crutchie asked. Sniffles jumped up and nodded. Crutchie gestured for him to come over. Elmer was already working on making a giant snowball for the lower part of its body.
"If you make da head, I'll make the middle part!"
As the three boys worked on a snowman, Specs and Jack watched from a distance. "Y'know it seems weird that we've only known that guy for a year," Jack thought out loud.
"Yeah, crazy how quickly he fit in…."
Suddenly Specs felt two hands cover his eyes. "Guess who?"
He laughed and pulled the hands away. "Blossom, what're ya doin' here?" She grinned and handed him a shoe.
"Ya left this at my apartment."
"Again?"
"Don't ask me how you manage to lose a shoe every time you come over!" Blossom chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him for a short moment. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Sunflower."
"Oh, that reminds me!" She opened her bag and grabbed a little present, neatly wrapped with a bow on top of it. "It's not much, but I couldn't find anything better in time." She handed him the little box.
Specs opened it and grinned as he saw the small, glass sunflower inside. "I love it, thank you!"
"I'm glad!"
"BLOSSOM!" Sniffles came running over and gave her an excited high-five. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas! Oh, are you making a snowman?" Blossom asked, noticing the half finished snowman.
"Yeah! Crutchie and Elmer are helpin'." Sniffles gasped as he realised something. "Blossom, do you have a carrot for his nose?"
"Actually I do." Blossom smiled and reached into one of her jacket's pockets. "Here ya go."
"You were just carryin' around carrots in yer pocket?" Specs asked, looking wide-eyed at the vegetable in her hands.
"I grew them a while ago at home, and gave a few to Katherine. I guess I forgot this one, or something." Blossom shrugged.
"LAST CHRISTMAS, I GAVE YA MA HEART, BUT THE VERY NEXT DAY, YA GAVE IT AWAY!" Finch, Sniper, and Tommy Boy came dancing around the corner. "THIS YEAR, TA SAVE ME FROM TEARS, I'LL GIVE IT TA SOMEONE SPECIAL!" Finch did a dramatic slide into the snow, holding his hand in front of his face like he was singing into a microphone. Sniper was passionately playing an air guitar, and Tommy Boy did some amazing made-up dance-moves. They all had a bag of some sorts with them. The other newsies gave an enthusiastic applause.
"Beautiful entrance, ten outta ten," Henry complimented them.
"Thank you, thank y-" Before Finch could finish he received a snowball right in his face.
"Ha, gotcha!" Race jumped up and down in victory.
"You'll pay fer this, Higgins!" Finch quickly made a snowball twice the size of the previous one and hit Race in the stomach.
"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Crutchie yelled, before a snowball hit him, making him fall backwards. Jack, needing to defend his brother, immediately joined the fight. Elmer and Sniffles were already making a snow-bunker for team Crutchie. Henry had joined team Crutchie and was gesturing at Specs to follow him. Specs refused, until a snowball hit the back of his head. Turning around he saw Romeo dying of laughter.
"You are a dead man, Sanchez!" Specs shouted, before joining team Crutchie. "Blossom, ya joinin' me?"
"Nah, sorry, I think I'll side with Romeo for once!" Blossom smirked and together with Romeo joined team Race.
Now there were three teams; Team Finch, Team Race, and Team Crutchie. As the fight became more intense, more newsies joined the fight, until every single one of them was part of a team. The fight was chaotic and seemed like it would go on forever, until….
"GET A LOAD A' THIS, HENRY!" JoJo yelled, throwing a snowball as hard as they could in Henry's direction. Henry closed his eyes and shaded his face with his arm, waiting for the snowball to hit him. It didn't though, and instead flew right past him and hit Sniffles in the face, knocking the boy backwards. As Sniffles went into a coughing fit, almost everyone stopped what they were doing to check on him.
"Are you okay?" Specs asked, putting a hand on the younger boy's back. Sniffles nodded and coughed a few more times, before he finally stopped.
"I think that was enough snowball fightin' fer today," Jack declared. There were several nods of agreement and a few sighs of disappointment, but no one protested.
"No, no, no, it's fine y'all can continue without me." Sniffles smiled weakly while Specs helped him stand up.
"Nah, the fight was gettin' boring anyways," Elmer assured. The boys all dusted the snow from their clothes and went inside the lodging house.
Once they were all seated in the living room, Henry went into the kitchen to make hot chocolate for all of them. "What're we gonna do now?" Buttons asked.
"Oh! I practiced some Christmas songs on da guitar!" Sniper exclaimed and jumped up. "Do you guys wanna hear? Just kiddin', I'm gonna get ma guitar anyways."
"I'M COMIN' WITH YA!" Smalls yelled, running after him.
"So… what are we gonna do, while they're gone?"
"Oh, we should get everythin' ready for da big sleepover." Crutchie smiled.
"I agree, it'll be less work later." JoJo stood up and made their way over to the hall. "Why is my bag the only one here?" There was an awkward silence before they spoke again. "You guys were smart enough ta put yer bags inside before joinin' the snowball fight… right?" Silence again. "Right?"
"Y'know, I suddenly really need ta… go outside…." Finch muttered before quickly standing up.
"I uh… I'll join ya," Tommy Boy said. As those two left, slowly everyone who didn't live at the lodging house, except for Blossom and JoJo, followed.
"A sleepover, huh?" She chuckled. "Seems like that'll be a great time to relax."
Specs laughed. "Yep, I's sure a lot a' sleep will be happenin' t'night." Blossom sat down, cross-legged, on the couch. "Ya could join us, if you'd like," he suggested.
"Yeah, join us!" Sniffles yelled, jumping onto the couch next to her.
"Is there still room fer her, Jack?"
"I guess, if we move da table…."
"That's settled then!" Sniffles beamed.
"Hold up, I haven't agreed yet!" Blossom exclaimed.
"Well… do ya wanna join us?" Specs asked.
"A sleepless night of pure chaos with my friends…." Blossom tapped her chin and smirked. "Can't say no to that." Sniffles fist-bumped the air and hugged Blossom. "I need to get some of my stuff, I'll be back in like… 30 minutes!" While she ran away, most of the other guys came back in.
"I got ma guitar!" Sniper held the instrument up high for everyone to see. He sat down on the couch, Smalls sitting so close next to him it was a miracle he could still play. As he played common Christmas songs, everyone else sang along, terribly. After Sniper had played every song he knew, Blossom arrived and the whole party was complete.
"YOU LYING PIECE OF SHIT!"
"Woah, woah, woah! I'm not da one who thinks they can just get away with throwin' their best friend in JAIL!" Blink slammed his hand onto the table, looking furiously at Mush.
"I think we should stop playing…" Tommy Boy whispered, slowly folding up the Monopoly game board. Everyone else at the table nodded in agreement, terrified of both Blink and Mush.
"It's gettin' late, maybe it's time ta get some dinner." Henry said, standing up.
One by one everyone got a plate of food from Henry and sat down, scattered around the living room. Jack and Crutchie started a small fire in the fireplace and Sniper played some flawless tunes as everyone ate their dinner.
"Guys." Jack stood up on one of the chairs as everyone finished their plates. "As everyone's almost done eatin'... I propose me, Sniffles, Specs, Crutchie an' Blossom go outside for a while. While we's gone, y'all can make sure there's enough room fer all da mattresses, an' get everythin' ready!" He jumped off his chair, almost tripping over a glass of Pepsi on the floor.
Sniffles didn't understand. Why just him and four others? Why not everyone? Specs gestured for him to follow the others into the hallway. "What're we doin'? Why just us?"
"Well, you seemed to have a lot a' fun outside earlier…." Crutchie started.
"Yeah, and so we thought that it might be a good idea to go outside one more time today." Blossom grabbed Sniffles' new coat and handed it to him.
"Except with a much calmer group, a' course." Specs wrapped a scarf around his neck.
"We's just gonna take a little walk around da city, nothin' special,' Jack said as he came through the door.
Sniffles jumped up and down in excitement. He hadn't thought he'd get to go outside again, but he certainly wasn't complaining.
"SNIFFLES, SNIFFLES, WAIT!" Buttons came running into the hallway, waving his hand which seemed to hold something. "I completely forgot, but I made ya a lil' thing y'know…." As he stopped moving Sniffles recognised the thing in his hand as a hand-knitted beanie.
Gratefully Sniffles took it and put it on his head. It was a little too big, but it didn't matter. "Thank you!" He hugged Buttons tightly for a moment, before letting go.
"Ya comin' with us, Sniffs?" Specs asked, and as Sniffles nodded he opened the door.
Sniffles didn't know exactly what he'd expected when stepping outside, but it certainly wasn't what he saw.
Thousands of Christmas lights illuminated the streets, making the white snow almost look like it was glowing. There were some people walking around, hurrying to their own Christmas dinner, having snowball fights, or simply taking a walk, just like they were doing themselves. Bob, the snowman they'd built earlier that day, was, to Sniffles' and Crutchie's delight, still intact and looking at them with a big cheery smile.
As the small group started walking, Sniffles never stopped being amazed by the lights. They never got old, and he could've looked at them forever. "They're really pretty aren't they?" Blossom asked, starting to walk next to him.
"Yeah."
"They're so magical," Crutchie said. A moment later he misplaced his crutch and fell onto the ground. Jack was at his side almost faster than humanly possible. "Jack, I'm alright!" He laughed, although his ankle hurt quite a bit.
"Yeah, sure. Want a ride?" Jack asked. Crutchie smirked as he nodded. In no time Jack was running around with Crutchie on his back.
"The show offs…." Specs scoffed. "Sniffles, get on my back." Blossom slapped her hand against her forehead as Sniffles obeyed and climbed Specs.
"Y'know this is just gonna prove to Elmer that you're a tree, right?" She chuckled.
"I do, an' I don't care." And with that Specs ran off quickly catching up with Jack and Crutchie.
"Be careful!" She yelled after him, but she wasn't sure if he heard her or not. Watching them chase and throw hands full of snow at each other, Blossom couldn't help but laugh. They were idiots. They were all huge idiots and she loved them to death.
"Sniffles, honestly, I didn't expect ya ta have such good aim!" Jack laughed, shaking some snow out of his hair.
"My dad taught me a thing or two!" Sniffles yelled back.
"I bet he didn't teach ya this!" Crutchie turned around so his back was facing Sniffles and Specs. Then he threw a snowball without looking. Unsurprisingly, it didn't hit Sniffles. Surprisingly, it did hit Specs. Dramatically he stumbled backwards and fell into the snow.
"Specs!" Sniffles ran over and kneeled next to his friend. "Are you okay?"
"Sniffles." Specs did his best to sound like he was dying, but couldn't even keep a straight face. "Avenge me." And with that, Specs died. Sniffles let out a dramatic cry as Blossom dragged her boyfriend away from the battle-field.
"This is what you get when you don't listen to your partner when she says you should be careful," She muttered.
"This is what ya get when your partner don't defend you in a fight."
"Shush, you're dead."
"Oh, so now you're playing along?"
Blossom smirked and kissed his cheek.
"Hey, I think we's gotta go now!" Jack yelled, gesturing for them to come back.
"If it wasn't for you two being chickens, I would've totally won.' Sniffles dusted some snow from his shoulders.
"You totally wouldn't have!" Jack argued.
"He totally would've." Specs chuckled as Blossom helped him stand up.
"Woah, Specs! You's alive!" Crutchie teased.
"Yeah, guess I'm Specs The White now."
"You're Specs The Idiot, now let's go back."
When they arrived back at the lodging house, all five of them were surprised to see that everyone had actually done the things they were supposed to do. The furniture had been shoved aside to make place for an insane amount of mattresses, they basically covered the entire floor. Christmas lights were hanging on the walls, the Christmas tree in the corner of the room, and Sniffles felt a feeling he hadn't truly felt in a long time.
He felt at home.
This was the place where he was meant to be. As so many people have said before, home isn't a place, it's a feeling. Ever since his father left, Sniffles didn't think that he'd be able to have that feeling anymore. But here it was. Here it was, warming his heart, and filling him with pure joy.
This was where he belonged.
That was it! Please do tell me your thoughts in a review!