Note: I have never, ever, written anything like romance before, I'm an action/adventure/fantasy/maybe a little drama and humor writer. So this is sounding more at more like a soap opera (at least to me), so if you get disgusted because this is too cheesy teeny-bopper movie/soap opera-ish, that's why. If it is, tell me, and if you could, please tell me how I can fix it to make it better, because I have no idea what I'm doing. K? Thanks! Oh and don't let this note scare you--please still r/r!
Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter! It really encouraged me a lot--I was going to write personal thank you emails but I could find everyone's email address and others there were a couple of different people with the same name and I didn't want to email the wrong person, so thank you sooooooo much!
Chapter 2
Becca paced back and forth, talking to herself in a low tone, going a mile a minute. "I'm the little sister, the little sister, I could get Dave killed if any of the guys find out, they're all so overprotective, and Jack's in a category all to himself…but I'm also sixteen, I can't stay unkissed forever…what am I thinking? This is Davey here, David Jacobs, my best friend, he doesn't like me, not that way, anyway. You saw how fast he pulled back, but I probably would have pulled back just as fast. It's the heat, that's what it is, people get weird, strange, don't think straight in this kind of heat, you saw it all the time in Santa Fe…"
***
Hazel, Becca's barely 17-year-old best friend watched Spot watch Becca take off down the hallway. She twisted her fingers in her shoulder-length dirty-blond hair, something she always did when she was thinking. She saw the smile play out on Spot's lips, and heard him saying something about a brush and destiny to Jack. What did a brush and destiny have to do with her best friend? Hazel waited until Jack turned to Racetrack, then she got up and sat down next to Spot.
"Alright, Conlon. You know somethin' th' rest of us don't know," Hazel was new to New York from Philadelphia, and had an accent that ranged between the two cities, "and you'd better tell me, 'specially since it has to do with my best friend." Spot stiffened at Hazel's demanding tone and glared warningly into the girl's eyes--the color from which she had gotten her newsie nickname.
"What makes ya t'ink t'at I know anyt'in, oah t'at if I do, t'at Ise jus' gonna tell ya, 'specially when you got t'at at'itude?"
"'Cause I'm tellin' ya, Spot" (hehe I couldn't resist) Spot paused a moment, then smirked.
"Why're askin' me? Why dontcha go in t'ere aftah hoir and find out foisthand?" Hazel thought about this for a moment, then stood up and walked over to two other girl newsies, close friends of hers and Becca's.
"Clover, Ebony," the aforementioned look up and saw Hazel jerk her head in the direction that Becca had disappeared to. They nodded, and excused themselves, with Hazel in the lead, Clover behind her, and Ebony bringing up the rear. (we're going to take a brief interlude as I give some descriptions for our two new characters, k?) Clover was 17 and had curly rust red-brown hair that fell down just past her shoulders. Her green-grey eyes were contemplative and compassionate, showing that her heart was much larger than her petite frame seemed able to hold. Her real name was Erin O'Connell, her family hailing from the lush green shores of Erie, or Ireland. But Clover herself was born and raised in New York City, although somewhere between her parent's accents and New York accents, she had turned out with no accent at all. (mainly because I can't write Irish accents, and I don't feel like having another character with a New York accent. So I'm lazy, sue me) The one thing she did get from the country of her ancestors, however, was her newsie nickname.
Ebony was barely 18 and named for her inky hair that rubbed the tips of her shoulders. Her eyes were deep blue and picked up every movement from every corner of the room. She was tall, taller than Becca, as tall as most of the guys her age. Ebony was completely opposite from Clover and Becca in many way, very short in temper (Clover), and she was as street-smart as they came (Becca). However, she had taken an instant liking to the two and Hazel, and the four had become fast friends. (okay, now we can get back to the story) Hazel, Clover, and Ebony made it to Becca's room just in time to hear her mutter, "you saw it all the time in Santa Fe."
"Saw what all the time in Santa Fe?" Clover asked softly. Becca's head whirled around and body tensed as she heard the voice, but relaxed when she saw who the source was. Usually, she would have heard them coming (Becca has that weird kind-of almost sixth sense thing without getting all psychic, kinda like that weird thing Xena does when she can hear people coming and knows when Ares is gonna show up, like that) but she had been too wrapped up in her thoughts to notice.
"Nothing." Becca sighed in self-exasperation and flopped down on her bed.
"I t'ought youse was goin' ta bed." Ebony said gently, sitting down next to Becca.
"I am in bed, aren't I?" came a muffled voice from beneath a pillow. Of the three, only Hazel knew how to deal with Becca when she was in this mood. She moved swiftly over to the side of the bed and snatched the pillow off of Becca's head.
"Somethin' happened on that roof and you're going to tell us. So spill." Becca set her jaw stubbornly, then sighed and spilled.
"What I saw all the time in Santa Fe was people acting…not exactly themselves because of the heat. It makes you go kinda crazy and you don't think straight."
"Did Davey do something out of character?" Clover's quiet voice was patiently understanding.
"No--not really, I mean, I don't know!" Becca threw her hands up in frustration and proceeded to get up and lean against the wall and rub her lips absentmindedly.
"He didn't hoit ya, did he? 'Cuz if he did…" Ebony stood up and her eyes took a dangerous hue. Hazel let out a small laugh.
"Davey hurt Becca? Ebony, think about it. Dave's almost as passive as Clover, no offense,"
"None taken."
"An' he's also smart, the smartest outta all of those guys out there. He knows that if he laid a finger on Becca," Hazel put her arms around the younger Kelly's shoulders, "our Becca'd soak the stuffin' outta him. An' then he'd have every newsie in Manhattan, plus a few from Brooklyn, includin' the infamous Spot Conlon, on his tail. An' by the time we'd all be done with him, there'd be nothin' left 'cept a pile of charred, smokin' bones."
Ebony and Clover laughed at Hazel's proclamation, but Becca kept staring off into space while playing with her lip. Hazel drew back and squinted at Becca. Recognition lit up her eyes, "he kissed you, didn't he?" Clover and Ebony jumped up, joy sparkling in their eyes. This question snapped Becca out of her trance.
"What? No!" Hazel stared into her best friend's eyes, her own eyes clearly saying 'uh-huh, whatever.' "Well, yes, no, not really."
"Not really? He either kissed you or he didn't." Clover's voice was clearly excited. Usually she was passive, but her hyper side broke free when it came to one thing--boys. It wasn't like she was boy-crazy, but she had had her share of boyfriends, and kisses. In fact, all of the girls in the Lodging House, more tough and street-smart than the innocent Becca, had had at least a couple boyfriends. Many were beginning to wonder if Becca ever would, but she stood firm. "If it happens, it happens. But I'm not gonna go out there looking for a boyfriend, I've got better things to do. 'Sides, he's going to be one of my friends first, and that's that." she'd always said.
"Becca, t'is is poifect!" Ebony exclaimed (arg this is really starting to sound like a cheesy teeny-bopper movie. Sigh. One day I'm gong to learn how to write the perfect combo of action/adventure/drama with a hint of romance that isn't in the slightest bit teeny-bopper, but until then, this will have to do.) "He's yoah best friend!"
"Best GUY friend," Hazel interjected.
"Whatevah. Anway, it's poifect!"
"Perfect? You guys are acting like he asked me to marry him or something! That's not what happened, you're thinking the wrong thing!" Becca was obviously upset, and her voice showed it. Hazel heard the borderline panic in her best friend's voice, and she waved her hands at Clover and Ebony.
"Whoa, guys, calm down." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "She's new ta all this, remember? And she's also the conservative, romantic type. She ain't gonna kiss a guy just ta kiss a guy. She's gotta really like him, and she's never liked someone that way before either." Ebony and Clover quickly sobered as they realized the truth in Hazel's words. The dirty-blonde newsie steered Becca over to the bed and sat her down, keeping her arms around Becca's shoulders. Ebony sat next to Becca, and Clover behind her.
"If we're thinkin' the wrong thing," Hazel continued, now speaking to Becca, "it's only 'cause you haven't told us anythin'. Now, you said somethin' 'bout people not actin' themselves in the heat. Did he take it back?"
"No." was the brief, sullen answer.
"Then what happened?" Clover's voice had returned to its normal, gentler tone. Becca took a deep breath and let it out. Shakily, she proceeded to tell her friends about what had happened on the roof. How they had talked about various subjects, as usual.
"Then the candle went out. We could still see well enough to see each other and around the roof and everything, with the street lamps. I only brought the candle up because I didn't want to strain my eyes while I was writing. Anyway, he helped me up, and we were kinda close, and he started looking at me the way he had earlier. The same, normal way he always looks at me, but there was something…different." The others murmured in understanding and Becca went on. "Then, I don't know, it wasn't really a kiss, kiss. It was more like a brush."
Something in the back of Hazel's mind clicked. 'A brush with destiny! I'm gonna have ta have a little chat with Conlon later.'
"Then he drew back, but I probably would have too. I think I was gonna, I don't know, it all happened so fast and my heart was pounding and--"
"It's okay, we understand." Becca smiled gratefully at Hazel.
"I think he got a little red, but then I did too, but I couldn't really tell because of the heat, anyway, then he said he had to go and he left." Becca's voice started to waver. "That's when I came inside."
"Are ya upset t'at he left so abruptly?" Ebony questioned.
"No…it's not that. I'm not mad or upset at him at all. I'm mad and upset at myself."
"Why? For what?" Clover was visibly concerned, as were Ebony and Hazel.
"I'm mad that I'm so confused! I've never not known how I felt about something before. Davey's just my friend, and I'm just his friend, and I don't know how I feel about him now. I mean, I almost practically kissed him, aren't I supposed to feel different? I mean, I do feel different, but I feel confused, not how you're supposed to feel when you go to kiss a guy! Does this mean that I'm still just his friend, or am I supposed to be more, or what?" A few tears of frustration trickled down Becca's cheek. The others waited for her to calm down some before speaking.
"Becca, you're bound to feel confused. As you said, it all happened so fast. Before we can give you any advice, if you want it," Becca nodded her head vigorously at Clover, "then you're going to have to answer one thing for us. That almost-kiss up there, what do you want it to have meant? Do you want it to have been just the head and some hormonal attraction, or do you want it to have meant something?"
"I don't care." Becca dried her eyes. "I just want to know where me'n Davey stand. Right when he left, things were so awkward between us, even more so when we first met. I hated it! I just want to be comfortable around him again." Ebony, Hazel, and Clover smiled knowingly at each other, but Becca was too absorbed in looking down at her hands to notice. Hazel picked up where Clover had left off.
"Then you gotta talk to him. It's th' only way. Find out how he feels, and proceed from there. Make sure he knows that what you really want is ta feel comfortable around him, an' that he shouldn't do anythin' that's gonna make the both of you too uncomfortable." Becca nodded, and her friends hugged her.
"It's gettin' late," Ebony stated, "an' it's a whole lot quietah out t'ere. Sounds like Kloppman musta come and hollahed at awl of t'em ta get ta bed. So's wese bettah be goin'. You okay? Ya need any of us ta stay heah?"
"No, I'm fine. And thanks."
"No poiblem." Becca hugged each one of them again before they left. She waited until she heard them talking with the guys out in the bunkroom, then she got up, shut the door, and turned out the light. She got into the bed, and while hugging a pillow, waited for sleep to come.
***
The other newsies were just cleaning up after Kloppman had come up and told them that they had to be getting to bed when Ebony, Hazel, and Clover came out into the main bunkroom. "So what's goin' on?" Jack asked.
"Nothin'" Hazel answered.
"C'mon, Hazel, you guys were in t'ere foah thoity minutes and Becca said she was goin' ta bed. T'at ain't nuttin'."
"I'ts goil talk, Cowboy. Borin' old goil stuff," Ebony replied. Jack was going to retort when he was interrupted by agreement with Ebony from the other girl newsies in the room, and by Racetrack.
"She's right, Cowboy. It's goil stuff. Sutff t'at us men ain't nevah gonna know oah undastand, so don't even botha." Jack's face was stubborn.
"Ise still goin' in t'ere ta say goodnight." The others shrugged in apathy, and after saying their final goodbyes, the Brooklyn and Manhattan girl newsies took their leave. The Manhattan Newsboys prepared themselves for bed as Jack walked as silently as he could down the hallway. He slowly opened the door to Becca's room, and peered inside to see her lying in her bed. He went softly over to her side, and noticed that she was still awake.
"Heya, big bro."
"Heya, lit'le sis." Jack paused, then asked, "Ya do know t'at you can always tell me anyt'in, right?"
"Yes, of course I do." Jack felt relieved.
"Well, just so you don't forget. I love ya, Becky." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, as he did every night.
"Love you too, Jack." Jack smiled in the dark, then got up and left to get ready for bed.
Tell me what you think! Once again, I have no idea what I'm doing so I need to know how corny this sounds, and how to make it better. So please review and tell me!