Shoutouts!! Thanks for all the reviews, you guys. You're golden. I love you all! Muah!
Hades *~* Thank you!!!!! Sorry I've made you wait so long. I've been stressing out MAJOR. Argh. School sucks and college searching sucks and doing bad in AP classes REALLY sucks! Haha. Hope you like this chappy.
Braces *~* Thanks! I hope you had a good dinner. ^_^ LOL!
Blinks-Tiger *~* **Mondie huggles Tigey** T'anks! I liked all those parts too. Heh. I'm such a modest author… anyhow. I especially enjoyed Relic's pretending to be 2 people cuz it's something I would do… sadly…
Raider *~* Thanks dearie! More's here. WAHOO!
Moody *~* Sheesh! Who're YOU to be ordering ME around?? LOLOLOL j/j. Sorry it takes so long, but feel free to refer up to Hades' shoutout. I'm going spastic over here. And then it's hard to come back and write happy fluffy fiction. I think that's why I enjoy writing Growth so much… hmmm.
Ashley *~* Bwahaha that was all part of my evil plan! To get YOU specifically hooked!!! LOL okay so I don't know you or anything… but whatev! Thanks for reading. :D
Stress *~* Okay. Don't kill me for this chappy. I swear, you WILL get with Itey. He's just being… stubborn. But keep faith in me! You're going to have one of the sweetiest chappies yet. **Mondie huggles Stress and Itey** Oooh, I can't wait to write it… just you wait. Oh, and you do get SOME fun parts in this chappy. Of course!
Sobe a Lizard *~* Ah, I enjoyed the bit of dancing. I'll join in. **Mondie dances around some with Mush** Oh, my own bowling skills SUCK… like colassally… ((That's not a word, but I've decided it should be.)) The last time I went bowling I got a 42 and a 40. At least I'm consistent in my horribleness…
Tunes *~* I know! Sneaky Snitch. The li'l devil. Ah, we love him anywayz though. Even if he DOES sleep with Itey. Which I'm still confused about, btw… weirdos.
BitterSweet *~* You're such a (bitter)sweetie! :D Thank you so much for all your review, Sarah. I heart you muchly!
lange *~* Wahoo, I think this is shoutout #3 for you, isn't it?? :D Oh don't worry, KB and Mush will have their moments too. I think I may have Mush do some cutey cute cute things soon, even though he and Hades' chapter isn't for a while. ^_^ I heart Mushy Darling. He's so cuuuuuuuuuuuuute.
Tuffy *~* Aw, you KNOW I heart you Tuffy!!!!!! I'll read your story sometime… I promise… keep reminding me. I just have so little time right now… GAH. I still have to start Gypsy's sequel story… and catch up on Mis's stories… ACK!!!!!! I think I'm going insane. Maybe that will make me a better writer. Or maybe not.
Slick *~* I know! I can't figure out why this story gets so many reviews. ((shrug)) Not that I'm complaining!!!! It makes me HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY to see so many! Yeah, I have a lot of Homework From High Hell tonight… and I work… it's not going to be very fun at my house this evening. But I wanted to post this today, so there ya go.
Dragonfly *~* I'm glad you liked your chappy. :D Wahoo! I'm glad you straightened things out with Bowler too so that he takes you over his bowling ball. LOLOL! Take good care of that bowler of yours. You get some Snitchy fun in this chappy. HOO HA!
Pegasus *~* WAHOO I'M A LIFESAVER! I hope I'm a lime or cherry one. Those are my favey-daveys. ^_^ How is school? Mine sucks. I HATE IT. I'm ready to graduate RIGHT NOW. Forget my senior year, it's sucking so far. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Gypsy *~* HAHAHA for the teacher almost running away from you! That's awesome. Unfortunately, almost all my teachers either know me or knew my brother, so they find me fairly normal. I find that odd. The part with the second casting call… I think it's chappy 9. But who knows, this chappy was SUPPOSED to be all Itey/Stress and it turned out half Race/Divinity. So much for my Great Plan O' The Story.
misprint *~* My brother thinks I'm crazy too. HOO HA! LOLOL. HAHAHA I'm glad he ran from the room screaming. My brother came home last night to get some compie thing for his frat room and it made me happy cuz I hardly ever see him. :D I'd join the Clover Gang too if it was at my school. Especially if I got Mush. ((Mush is gonna have the most ADORABLE part EVER in this story. I'm so excited for it.)) LOLOL: "This is the coolest chapter besides all the other chapters!" You crack me up, Mis!!!!!!!!!! And my carefully thought out plot… yeah, it disintegrated again. I suck at the planned plot thingy. I really, really do. I HAVEN'T SEEN ROAD TO EL DORADO! It made me mad that they don't sing in it so I didn't watch it. ^_^ LOL I'm kinda insane. Oooh look, now I've made it to the line that separates the pages in Microsoft Word and right now I'm writing on the second page of shoutouts!!!! WAHOO! And I still have quite a few to go so I'm gonna wrap this up now. Oh, but in your review you were singing "And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII will always love you…" Yeah, I was singing that in the band room today after lunch except I was singing it to myself… so I was singing "And IIIIIIIIIIIIIII will always love meeeeeeee…" Mr. Sloan (band director) came out of his office and he pulled the whole "Who sings that? …Then let them sing it." I fall for that one every time… I'm quite gullible. Dang, this was a loud shoutout. If I were actually shouting, I would be hoarse.
kimimay85 *~* Hahaha, I like how you always insist that the girl beside the lockers is named Adele and that she's gonna have a major role… even though I'm gonna have you IN there… LOLOL you crack me up kid. I miss Curt too. :( Have the guys figured out where we're going to eat before homecoming? Do you know if it's just gonna be the four of us or if others are tagging along, like Stace and Crystal et al? Hmmm. :/ Yay for Fiddler On The Roof… tres exciting! SICK I HATE FRENCH!
Aki *~* Thank you sooooooooooooo much! You're so sweet. I forget which chappy is yours, but I believe it's coming up soon. Maybe. Maybe I'm hallucinating. Who knows. ^_^
Drama-Queen *~* You're in luck, we get two pairings this chappy… well, almost… okay, well one "we know they're gonna end up together" pairing and one "paired together" pairing. YAY!
Taffee *~* Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I agree, Snitch is a cutie. **Mondie giggles** Yay Snitchness!
Katy *~* Thanks! Wahoo! I'm glad you won't stalk me. Although it wouldn't be too bad if I had a stalker whose name happened to be Aaron Lohr and he didn't mind me calling him Mush Portman…
Ali *~* I'm your hero? REALLY?? **Mondie claps hands until Mush slaps her on the back of the head and shakes his own head that Mondie is not REALLY Ali's hero** WAHOO! TWO THUMBS UP!!!!!!!!! I'se excited for that. Which is odd of me. I'll shut up now.
rumor *~* Yeah, don't ask me what I was thinking… actually, I think Joan Jett DOES have a song called "Crimson and Clover"… I often talk about things I actually have NO knowledge of. Haha I'm weird like that. Just ignore me when I pretend to be smart. Yes, insanity IS good! Wahoo! And so is… uh… chocolate? MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM And MUSH covered in chocolate is even BETTER…… ::ahem:: Anyhow, I *do* enjoy the song on Jimmy Eat World's CD… it makes me laugh. WAHOO FOR THE RUN-ON REVIEW YOU LEFT! YAYNESS! I dunno what it is about the bowling shoes, but I personally find them gross, so I decided that Dfly would too. :D Hahaha. Yay for Cher wigs! I was very much so into a Will & Grace moment then. I heart when Cher is on that show and Jack is all nutso… great great GREAT fun! Don't worry, you don't frighten me—I have ecology/genetics seventh period with SPORT who is this kid that is frightening beyond belief. So don't you worry. I find you incredibly normal.
Holiday *~* Aloha! School IS very ick. Grrrrrrrr to school. I'm leading a boycott at mine. I'm striking out against school. Haha don't pay any attention to the fact that we're only, oh, a month into school. Not even a month. Three weeks maybe? Ah well, I'm already sick to death of it.
Divinity *~* Ahem, I've moved your chappy up. Uh, here ya go! Hahahaha. Hope ya don't mind. You were originally towards the back of the group (as are most of the "main character" newsies) like in the late teen chapters, but I needed another plot line and I just picked you cuz you're wicked awesome. Haha! Hope ya like it… don't hate me… ^_^
Court Jester *~* All is at peace?? No way! Our war is SO still on! LOLOL I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't add millions of quotes to my bio in my profile! I swear, I'm listening to Rent WAY too much… everyone's so sick of me… I just love Angel to bits… I wanna marry him. Well, I don't want AIDS, but ya know… Angel's a sweetie. And he buys the coat for Collins and he sings "I'll Cover You" and it's SOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE! AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. **Mondie huggles Angel** **Then Mondie remembers that this is a NEWSIES story** ::ahem:: Sorry 'bout that. You actually read my mind goilie, there IS a bit of a hardship here… poor Stress. But it will all turn out nicely in the end CUZ I SAY SO! Oooh, Breakfast Club! I heart Brian. He's such a sweetie. :D Yay yay yay! And Emilio Estevez… he was in Mighty Ducks 2 and 3 with my baby…
Vix *~* Wow! Thanks so much!!! I doubt that it's the best, but still, it's really kind of you to say that! :D
lindi *~* Keep reminding me to read your story. I've got so many to read, I might forget otherwise. LOL! Thanks for the three reviews!!!!!!!! Mush is my favey-davey too. **Mondie huggles Mushy Darling** He's soooooooo adorable!
Mist *~* I must say that I myself am enjoying the perfectness of this story. It makes my own life look even MORE pathetic by comparison, but it's still nice to divulge myself into this.
jsgirl2005 *~* Thank you! Sorry it takes me so long. Refer up to Hades' shoutout (the first one) if you'd really like to hear me complain about my lack of time. ;D LOL! Which I'm sure you don't! But oh well.
Ace *~* Thanks!!!!!! Of course I've written more. I haven't abandoned this baby yet. I wouldn't! LOL I heart it too much! **Mondie huggles story**
falco *~* yeah, ff.net has officially gone INSANE… I swear! LOLOL Okay, so I really don't read anything but Newsies and occasionally Harry Potter or Swing Kids ff, but it's really weird that they don't have music artists and stuff anymore. :/ I'm glad I'm not like a Jimmy Eat World author or something, I'd be way pissed. Stupid ff.net going crazy!
Author's Note: I know I promised Stress that this would be her chappy, but things took a weird slide. Don't be upset with me Stress! You WILL get Itey. I swear. It's just gonna be a cuter story because it's gonna evolve through other chappies. So yes. This chapter actually has TWO storylines, but I just put Race and Div in the chappy title because they're the ones who get hooked up. Stress, your time is coming! REALLY! Thanks for understanding, Muah! Also, the place where Race and Div work is based off of Kimi and my place of employment, The Orchard Tree. Some things are made up and different from the actual restaurant, but things like the layout are the same. So sorry if things aren't described very well… yell at me and I'll try to be more clearer. :D
Untouchables
Chapter 7
"Snitch, this is Stress." Dragonfly smiled slyly as she introduced her new boyfriend to one of her best friends.
"Hi, Stress," Snitch said, smiling at the girl. Dragonfly's friend had striking yellowish green eyes, which instantly reminded Snitch of his tabby cat, Chelsea.
"And guess who Stress would be perfect for?" Dragonfly continued.
"Uh…" Snitch really had no idea what his girl was going at. "Santa Claus?"
Dragonfly giggled and kissed his nose. "No! Itey, you silly!"
Snitch shook his head. "I know you girls think you're all gonna hook up with a Crimson Gang member, but Itey's not gonna go for it."
Dragonfly pulled him away from Stress, her eyes wide. "Is he gay?" she asked in a whisper.
Snitch let out a barking laugh. "No! But he's my best friend, and I know him better than anyone. He says that he's gonna focus on his golf and his studies. He really wants to get into a good college, and he's convinced himself that that means NO GIRLS."
Dragonfly stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "Does that mean you're not gonna help me hook him up with Stress?"
Snitch laughed at the puzzled look on her face. "Sorry, doll, but no."
Dragonfly sighed, then pouted. "Well, then you get to tell Stress."
Stress was standing alone, waiting patiently for them to finish their hushed conversation. Sighing, Snitch turned back and told Stress what he'd just told Dragonfly.
Stress's face fell, then, bravely, she shrugged. "Could you at least introduce me to him? So I can at least… I don't know, get to be friends with him?" She shook her long blonde-brown hair, curly, over her shoulder. It was something she only did when she was upset.
Snitch felt bad for having to break this news, and he nodded enthusiastically. "Sure. Actually," he said, checking his wristwatch, "He should be home by now. Why don't we head over to his place?"
***
Racetrack stood at the large metal dishwasher, singing loudly along with the pop song that blared over the kitchen's radio. This was the job he hated most of all at the restaurant he worked at, The Tree In The Orchard. Usually he was a busser, and it was quite nicer, especially with the interaction. As a dishwasher, he only got to hang out with the cooks, and occasionally the bussers, when they came back to unload their carts full of dishes; bussers got to correlate with every coworker in the restaurant. But he was the kind of person who didn't mind anything too much, and he'd rather get a laugh out of his coworkers than moan and complain about his life. The song changed to Britney Spears' "Oops! …I Did It Again." Race grinned. This was his favorite song at work, because he had dance movements for it and everyone would come watch whenever it came on.
Sure enough, the cooks hustled over as fast as they could, and Racetrack began his routine, sliding on the wet ground. A few waitresses who had come early and hadn't clocked on yet stood there laughing too, and Race grinned, in his element.
"OOPS!" he screamed along with the song when it reached the chorus. "I did it again! I played with your heart, got lost in the game!" Laughing, he threw in some dirty gestures as he sang the next lines: "Oh baby, baby!" The waitresses rolled their eyes and left to the back room again, as they often did when he got dirty, but John and Tim, the two cooks on duty, cracked up. "Oops! You think I'm in love, that I'm sent from abo-o-o-ove, I'm not," pelvic thrust, "that," pelvic thrust, "innocent!"
Suddenly, as he went into a spin, he saw a pair of large brown, familiar eyes, peeking at him from inside the managers' office. He lost his balance, fell, and went sliding across the soaking floor on his butt. John and Tim found that even funnier than his earlier antics.
Divinity stepped out of the office, holding her new time card. The manager that evening, Kristen, followed her. John and Tim, under the scathing eyes of Kristen, hurried back up to their cooking station. "This is our new waitress, Becca," Kristen told him, noticing the two looking at each other, almost confused.
"Divinity," Becca corrected instantly.
"Hi." Racetrack felt an unfamiliar flushing of his cheeks. He usually didn't get embarrassed. But a member of the Clover Gang? Watching him fall? He turned back to his dishes, hoping fervently that she wasn't supposed to be his match, that this wasn't some scheme dreamed up by that insane leader to get the girl with him. He tried to convince himself if was just coincidence. He didn't want to have just made a fool out of himself in front a girl who supposedly liked him. …Though, Divinity wouldn't be a bad choice for a Clover Gang girlfriend…
Divinity went to follow Kristen up to the front of the restaurant, but she smiled at Race as she went by. "I liked your dance," she said softly, a blush which matched his flaming her cheeks.
***
"Itey lives here?" Dragonfly stared up at the house in amazement. It was gigantic. Stress swallowed, much in the same awe as Dragonfly.
"Yeah," Snitch agreed, looking up at the house. He spent so much time there, it didn't seem as amazing now as it had when he'd become friends with Itey in second grade. He did know that it was a bit overwhelming, though. Itey always wore vintage clothing, and drove a '96 Ford truck. He liked to hide the fact that he was rich.
Snitch walked up and rang the doorbell, which echoed through the expansive mansion. A lady wearing a black skirt and a blue shirt opened the door. "Hello, Dee," she said with a smile.
"Hi, Maria!" Snitch answered.
Dragonfly and Stress exchanged a look. Dee? And he called Itey's mom by her first name?
"Is Itey here?"
"Yeah, I think he's somewhere. Shoes off at the door please, girls, so I don't have mud to clean up later," Maria said pleasantly.
The girls took off their sandals. Snitch had already taken his off, and was striding down the hall purposefully. The girls followed slowly, gawking at the artwork on the walls.
"Is that a…" Dragonfly stopped in front of one, staring. She couldn't finish.
Snitch backtracked and looked up at it. "Picasso? Yeah. Now, c'mon!" He grabbed the girls' arms and tugged them along, screaming for Itey.
"In here, man!" Itey called.
"Hey, I've brought some girls." Snitch led the two females into a room to the left, which turned out to be Itey's bedroom.
"Hey, who let you in? Mom?"
"No, I think your mom's still at work. Maria let us in," Snitch answered.
"Maria isn't Itey's mom?" Stress blurted.
Itey and Snitch laughed. "No, the maid," Snitch answered. "Well, one of them."
Itey looked over at how Dragonfly was hanging on Snitch's arm, and then saw how Stress was watching himself with interest. "Hey, Snitch, didn't you…" he began in a low voice.
"I know that you don't want a girlfriend, Itey," Stress spoke up. She tossed her hair again. "I just… I think you're an interesting person, and I'd like to get to know you better. Is that okay?"
Itey sighed in relief. "Yeah, sure!" he answered, smiling at her. "What do you guys wanna do?"
"Just hang," Dragonfly said, not taking her eyes off Snitch.
" 'Just hang,' huh?" Itey laughed to Stress a few minutes later. Dragonfly and Snitch were draped across his bed, making out as if it were the last time they'd see each other for a year. Stress and Itey were sitting on the floor, a huge bowl of popcorn between them.
"We should've known better than to let Dragonfly pick the afternoon's activity," giggled Stress, chewing on some of the snack.
"Wanna go walk around or something?" Itey suggested, ignoring the sighs and moans from his bed. "I could show you my golf course."
"You have your own golf course," Stress said in amazement. "Of course you do." Stupefied, she followed him out of his room and down some twisting hallways out onto the back deck/patio. There were outdoor recreations, such as a hot tub and a swimming pool and a tennis court right near the back of the house. And stretching as far as her eyes could see was beautiful, perfectly manicured lawn. Stress corrected her thoughts: not a lawn. A golf course.
"We've got two hired guys whose job is just to take care of the course," Itey told her. "I think Chris must be off today, because that's his golf cart." He pointed over to where two golf carts sat. "Mine's the blue one. Special-ordered by Phil." He rolled his eyes. "Phil is my stepdad from hell who buys everything."
"Oh." Stress didn't really know what to say. Itey's face was unreadable, but she thought she could see the pain in his eyes. She took off across the grass, covering the area quickly.
"Where are you going?" Itey asked.
Her eyes glinted mischieviously as she climbed on the plain beige golf cart. "Ready to race me?"
Itey laughed out loud. "Chris and Mark will kill me. Phil, too, if I tear up the course."
"Well, what could you do?" Stress asked satirically. "Stress just took off when she found keys left irresponsibly in the golf cart. What a silly girl, you had to follow her, of course." She revved the engine of the golf cart and raised her eyebrows at him. "See ya later, Itey." She brought her foot down on the accelerator.
Itey laughed, then jumped on his cart and took off after her.
***
Race grabbed the Windex and paper towels. "I'll wipe the sneeze guards for you," he offered.
Marcia, the waitress training Divinity, flashed him a quick and fake smile. "Good. I'll go take care of the iced tea. Take all the spoons out of these dishes, Divinity. Put them in this bucket." Stomping off, she left the two at the salad bar.
"So how do you like it here?" Racetrack asked, spritzing the glass panels over the salad bar and wiping one off. Divinity began to take the spoons out of the cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, croutons, cheese, dressing, and then the salad tongs.
"It's not too bad," she answered, smiling to herself. Relic's idea to get a job at Racetrack's place of employment had been golden.
Race walked to the other side of the bar and glanced through the glass. A view of Divinity, though distorted from the liquid still residing on the glass panel, was still beautiful. He wiped the Windex off and she became even more sparklingly stunning. Her brown hair spilled over her shoulders and glistened in the fluorescent glare of the lights. Most of the girls looked absolutely atrocious in the canary yellow polo shirts that were waitress and busser required attire, but Divinity looked… well, divine.
"Here." He grabbed the bucket, now full of utensils, from her hands. "I'll go wash these." He smiled at her.
"Thanks," she told him, biting her lower lip in happiness.
The pop song blaring in the back of the kitchen, in the dishwashing station, was Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You." Racetrack sang along loudly into the nozzle of the overhanging high-power sprayer. He didn't even mind when he accidentally squeezed the handle to it, spraying himself in the face with hot water.
Nothing could ruin his night anymore.
Divinity came up, hustling with a big bowl of salad. She went into the walk-in freezer and dumped it in the large barrel o' lettuce, then walked shyly over to Racetrack. "Will you rinse this for me?" she asked, tactfully trying not to notice the fact that his face was sopping wet and that he was singing along, high as a soprano, with Darren Hayes.
"Only if you'll go out with me on Friday," Racetrack said with a wink. "We can go after work if you're still training then."
Divinity smiled. "I'd love to."
Race whistled as he rinsed out the tiny pieces of lettuce and carrots that stuck to the plastic bowl, then handed it back to Divinity, who brushed her hair back from her face in a hurried motion and, with a flit of a wave from her fingertips, headed back up to the front of the restaurant in elation.
Until she fell on the wet floor and slid across on her butt, much as he had earlier. The look of shock on her face was priceless, and Race doubled over in laughter.
No, nothing could ruin his night at all.