Disclaimer: I still don't own Newsies. As Sita-Chan once said... If I owned Newsies, do you really think it would only be a PG movie? ^_~
A/N: Okay, this is getting back into the regular swing of things now. If any of you haven't noticed, I posted a new story called Where Have All the Muses Gone? And I really like it, so I think you should read it. ^_^ Have fun! ttyl
Shoutouts!
Artemis: I'm glad you thought it was good. I seem to have lost some reviewers here... ut –oh! Maybe they'll come back later. Vash is a dumbass, and I'm glad that he's gone, though I really don't feel the need to kill him, as long as I never have to see him again. ^_^ Blink did kiss it and make it ALLLLLL better. ^____^ Luffle you!
Cassie: Wow... you? Speechless? I gotta learn to do that more often. ^_~ Kristan is always good for a comeback, because she thinks of them ahead of time. ^_^ It amuses me. I love her so much! Luv ya hon!
Maddie: Yay for signed reviews!! I think I reviewed your new story... I'll have to check. Snipe is a good boy... he'll keep. They have to. They all have to. Hope you enjoyed your concert! Here, have another chapter. ^_^
Luna: *ding dong, the pig is dead, which old pig? The grossest pig! Ding dong the gross old pig is dead* That was all for you, Storm and Arty. ^_^ luffle you, Luna!
Christine: Serious? You? HA! Dude, calling Vash a big hairy whale is an insult to whales. I was trying to think of something to really really send Spot over the edge, to get really pissed at him... so that was the worst insult I could think of. What do you think? We were lucky that Kristan watches CSI. It is one of her many obsessions. Your fic amuses me because it is and isn't set on my story, because you're a homophobe. ^_~ I think the giant catfish would die if it ate Vash. Barn staff will come later, I know I still have some loose ends to tie up and finish the story. Luv ya too!
Luthien: Yeah, sweety, she really did. *shudder* I remember that day... that day sucked.
Brownie: Yeah, I warned ya! I love Chicago. ^_^ I'm just a sucker for musicals, that's all. Luv ya!
Chapter 27: Nike and Davey, Sittin' in a Tree...
With the others gone and the memory of Vash still fresh in their minds, Dave and Nike were in no mood to go to bed, although they were both tired. Instead, they laid out the mattresses in the living room of the log cabin, built a fire, and made hot chocolate. They had both put on dryer clothes, and were currently wrapped in blankets, watching the flames silently. So much had happened in that one night that they were content to sit there saying nothing. Both were incapable of putting the last few hours into words.
"Dave?" Nike asked quietly. Somehow, her sarcasm was turned off for the night. It was odd for Davey to hear her speak without sounding bitchy. "Why did you come looking for me?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"It's my kind of question. Why did you come looking for me in the first place? I mean... most decent people would have tried to pull a drowning person back out of the water, but why were you even out in the woods?"
Dave got up and poured another cup of hot chocolate to give himself time to think of exactly how he wanted to respond to the question. After he had dawdled as long as he thought he could with the teapot, Dave resumed his seat.
"I went looking for you because... because... because I care about you. You are a good person, Nike, but it hurts to see you cover your emotions with sarcasm and rudeness. It hurts me because you push people away. It almost seems like you're scared to let anyone get too close to you, because they might not like what they see or they might break your heart and go away. But, yeah, I came looking for you because I was scared for you, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
Nike looked into Dave's face. The shadows danced along his cheekbones and his neck, but his eyes had a light of their own. Something she had rarely seen shone from his face; truth. Pure, unadulterated, unaltered truth. It was slightly frightening.
"Thank you."
It was all she could say, and though there was so much more to tell, it would have to be enough. But it was enough, because on a night like that, there is no need for words.
Dave snaked his arm around Nike, and they let the warmth of the fire envelop them and carry them off to a deep, sweet sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Well, I was going to end the chapter here but... that is too too too short, so here's some more!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next morning dawned bright and cold. During flag and breakfast, the few who were present the night before found themselves looking to each other for comfort, though none could be found.
Happy called an impromptu staff meeting after breakfast. The Unit Leader from each unit, and the people in charge of the specialty areas all had to stay behind. Gryffin, Ivy, Nike, Jack, Harmony, Luna, Pixie and Scout all found themselves around one table in the dining hall. Gryffin was sure not to look at Nike, because she was not sure of herself at the moment, and wanted to keep her face straight. Instead, she picked a book from her bag and pretended to read it.
"Guys, we have a very serious matter on our hands. As some of you may have noticed, Vash was not at breakfast this morning. He's been missing since last night. The police are coming out here around dinner time, after the campers leave, to talk to us. If anyone has any information, please come and see me in Mary Lodge. Make sure all of your staff members know this is happening. He may be lost in the woods, he may have been kidnapped, or he may have just left of his own accord. No matter what the outcome, you all need to be on high alert this morning. Are we clear?"
Gryffin nodded. She was glad, for once, that Happy was camp director, not Pooh, simply because Happy tended to lecture on everything, while Pooh made it more personal. It is much easier to tune out the words coming from someone who is lecturing than someone who is asking you direct questions.
As the other staff members got up to leave, Gryffin caught Jack.
"Hey, I need to talk to you," she said quietly. "Can you come for a walk?"
Jack looked to Luna, who nodded.
"I need ta tell me boys anyhow. Mind if we walk ta Laurel Oaks?"
"No, that's fine."
"Okay, so whassa matta?" Jack asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"It has to do with what Happy just said...but I can't talk in front of anyone else."
Jack stopped and gave the girl an odd look. She looked back, pleadingly. The newsboy nodded.
"Give me two minutes, an' I'll be back."
Jack jogged down toward the tents in Laurel Oaks. Gryffin stood by the Haven and waited for him to return from telling Bumlets, Crutchy and Snitch of what had happened. Honestly, none of them seemed to care. Gryffin couldn't blame them... Vash had been a jerk since the Newsies had arrived. Actually... he had been a jerk for the entire time she had known him, but that was beside the point.
Gryffin tried desperately to turn her thoughts to a different topic while she waited for Jack. Whether she liked him or not, she still did not like thinking bad thoughts about someone who could no longer defend themselves. Gryffin knew that the newsboys would protect each other at any cost. That is the only reason she felt that Jack may understand, but she still didn't want to burden him with the knowledge of last night's events.
"Let's go," Jack said, appearing at her side. They turned and started down the horse path to Trail's End. As soon as they were a few feet away from the opening, Jack asked Gryffin what was troubling her.
"Gryff, what's troubling you?"
(See, I told ja!)
"Jack, I... I... God this is hard."
Jack looked at her questioningly. That was usually the statement someone made when they were about to tell their secret crush that they liked them, but he was fairly sure that was not the case.
"D'ya wanna sit down an' talk?"
"No," she lied. If they sat down, she would probably never get back to Trail's End. "I just wanted to tell you... let me talk to the Trail's End boys about what happened. And Race, Spot and Dave too. It might just be easier that way."
Though Gryffin had hoped that Jack wouldn't ask questions, she was not surprised when he did pose his quarries to her. It had been an odd request.
"Are you'se keepin' somethin' from me?"
Gryffin sighed.
"Sit down, Jack, this may take a while."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Meanwhile, in Trail's End...
"Alright, kids," Taylor said. "You have to do kapers this morning. Kapers are chores. Everyone in camp has to do some sort of kaper. Each tent has a different job to do. The list of which is which is on the kaper chart in the unit shelter. I'll be in the flushie building if you need me. You only have an hour, and your kaper had better be done, or else you will all be late for the barn. Do you girls understand?"
The children nodded agreement and scrambled off in different directions. Taylor and Itey walked toward the flushie building, accidentally on purpose brushing hands as they went. Nearly half way there, Itey whispered something in Taylor's ear and she promptly threw him on the ground.
Sky watched them go, when she heard a voice next to her ear.
"Hey Sky-bird," Skittery said softly, "Want to come...er... help me with something behind the Unit Shelter?"
Sky turned to find him smiling wickedly. She playfully slapped the side of his arm, but walked off in the general direction of the wood box anyhow. A moment later, Skittery... with a very hungry look in his eyes, followed her now invisible form.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You guys really? Spot, he? Oh man." Jack buried his head in his hands in an effort to comprehend what Gryffin had just told him.
"It was an accident, Jack. They can't pin it on Spot. There's no way that they can legally prove Spot did it."
Jack sighed.
"Yeah, you talk ta dem sometime den, an' tell dem what Happy says. I'll go tell da fellas at da pool..."
"Oh, don't bother to tell Snitch either... he was there, and Harmony probably already told him."
"Right," Jack said, feeling quite useless at the moment. "I'll jus' go find the rest a da guys you didn' take widcha on dat little escapade an' tell dem. I sweah, if one a my boys gets in trouble..."
"Then it was their own fault and their own actions! We weren't doing anything wrong! We were just looking for someone who was lost, we weren't even messing around this time."
"Yeah," Jack agreed, sounding sarcastic. His tone lightened as he went on. "Yeah, dis time. Don' worry, da Newsies always get outta messes like dis. One way or anodder I gotta go... do somethin'."
Gryffin watched as Jack walked back down the path, his hands shoved in his pockets. The proud head of the cowboy slumped over instead of proud and tall as it usually was. She felt bad enough already. Jack was only making it worse.
"It's not our fault," Gryffin said, stomping one foot in a childish manner. She knew her words were more to convince herself than anything else, but they still worked. She trudged off through the woods to find Spot and Race, and tell them what happened before Scout told them on accident.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Oh. My.
God," Savannah said, as she
promptly dropped the stack of wood she had been carrying.
Sky pushed Skittery away and turned fuchsia so quickly that the campers standing around the wood box could not tell which happened first. It seemed to take Skittery a moment to realize what was happening; he had been so lost in his...er... other business.
"Girls," Sky said, becoming even purpler. Savannah, Cassie and Maddie all stood around the half full wood box.
"I told you!" Maddie shouted at Cassie. "Now where's Racetrack? I won a bet! I won a bet!"
"Maddie!" Skittery yelled. The girl stopped dead in her tracks. Skittery hadn't yelled at anyone all week. In fact, he had hardly said a word to the campers.
"Yes, Mr. Skittery Sir?" the girl asked. From most campers, this would be sarcastic, but it was simply Maddie's way.
"You'se need ta stay heah a minute. Sky's got somethin' ta say to you'se." He half-smiled down on his girlfriend while she searched for words.
"Girls, you can't tell anyone this, okay?"
The girls broke out in complaints and whines. It was amazing how the three of them could drown out each other.
"LISTEN!" The girls reluctantly stopped, with sour faces all around. "I'm serious. You guys thought we were good councilors, right?" The girls mumbled agreement. "Good, I'm glad you think so, because otherwise, this argument would have no point. See, girls, if you tell anyone that you saw us, then we'd get fired. You wouldn't want us to get fired, would you?"
"No Sky!" Cassie cried and threw her arms around the girl.
"No Skittery!" Savannah cried, taking after Cassie and throwing her arms around the boy's neck. Hey, he may be taken, but she can still say she got a hug from her crush.
"But what about my bet with Race?" Maddie pouted.
"Race always did make stupid bets," Skittery commented. "Tell ya what, you can tell Race at lunch, but ya gotta stay clear a everyone else, gots it?"
Maddie nodded excitedly, a huge smile on her face. Skittery started to rebutton the top of his shirt.
"Thank you girls. Now can you go finish your kaper, please?" Sky asked them gently. They nodded again and went back out into the woods looking for more timber for the wood box.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Two figures leapt apart as Gryffin swung open the door of Christy Pack Out.
"Geeze!" Race yelled. "Give us a heart attack why don't yas!"
Spot remained silent. He hadn't even spoken to Race since yesterday, though he was sure to show his boyfriend that he was not mad at him. Spot just did not have the words at the moment, and Race was willing to wait.
"Don't you guys ever work?" Gryffin commented as she reached for the bottle of purge on the top shelf.
"Nah, Scout says we'se a bad influence on da kids," Race said as he pulled his suspenders up over his shoulders.
"No kidding?" Gryffin smirked at the short Italian.
"You know, you'se kinda look like Spot when you do dat."
Gryffin was going to hit Race in the back of the head, as was her habit with boys who made stupid comments, but Spot elbowed him in the ribs first, so she held the slap for later.
"Since the two of you aren't doing anything, want to come down to Trail's End for a bit? I know some of our campers would like to say good bye to you. You did spend more time in our unit than your own."
Race looked to Spot, who merely stood there.
"Sure, why not?"
Spot picked his hat off the floor and they walked on down the path to Trail's End.
End Twenty Seven
A/N: Yeah, sorry it took so long and it's a little short, but the story has to move forward, one way or another. Luffle you all, and please leave me a review on the way out. *puppy eyes* please?