Star Crossed Lovers - by Crunch
*To shortie* - HOO YAH! My own Racetrack muse? Omg, I truly am speechless. I've never gotten a better present, thanx so much! *wipes away tear*. Og gosh, I know, I just realized halfway through chapter 1 what I'd gotten myself into with that whole romeo gig, I want to cry just thinking of the task ahead!! Oh gosh, I'm so happy you like the story! *looks around for someone to hug, when noone can be found, hugs herself* oh, I guess I should go write now, but keep on reading, you make checking my reviews so fun!
*To Misprint*- three times! Three! THANKSOMUCH!!! Racetrack's essence? Really? You think so? *does happy touchdown/review dance* Yay! Here ya go, keep reading!! And thanxabunch!! Oh yes, and keep UPDATING!!!
*To Derby* - Yay! Thanks soooo much to you AND your imaginary friend! You guys rock!! Wait does that mean I only get one thumb up each? Ah well, I'll try not to overthink that, keep reading and reviewing!
*To Morning Dew* - wait just ONE more chapter. . .wait for it. . .wait. . I know I'm such meshuganah. (yiddish for mitzbuchah) Thanks so much for r&r, keep on doin it!!
*CrAzyLyN* - oh dear, I hope by the time you read this chapter you're ungrounded! I do hate it when my reviewers suffer. Yes, here ya go, I'm so glad you like it so far! *Starts to do happy dance, then realizes it's getting VERY old* Any ways stick with it, I promise we're getting to the good parts, but you knew that!!!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Race brushed aside the fallen leaves, tracing a path through the splatters of flaming orange and red with one shoe. He was surprised to find any kind of foliage left on the streets; the trees had been stripped bare for ages now.
"Racetrack me boy!" with a start, he looked up to see Skittery and Kid Blink shuffling towards him, breaths hovering in the chilly air infront of their faces like a pair of jubilant chain smokers. He beamed as Blink reached out and smacked his cheek. "Where ya been all me life, kiddo?"
"'Ey, Blink. Skitts." Skittery flashed his friend a welcoming grin.
"Bruddah, get ready ta forget all about dat Bristols goil. Tonight is gonna be great, you'll see." Race shook his head, cringing as the sour stench of whisky on Blink's breath blasted him square in the face.
"What you two bummers seem ta be forgetting is dat dis is Spot's party. It'll be crawlin' wid Brooklynites. We can't just pop in like daisies for a Sunday picnic."
"Race, you're breakin' me heart. Don't you t'ink I thought of dat?" Blink drove a fist into the torn pocket of his ragged tweed overcoat, mischief twinkling from his one good eye. "Ta da!"
"Oh, no. NO." Race studied the masks clutched triumphantly in his friend's hand. They glimmered in the moonlight; three identical concoctions of newspapers and string. "Forget it, Blink. I aint wearin' no mask. And anyway, Baron might not be da brightest pape in da stack, but even he aint dumb enough ta fall for dese." Slightly insulted, but still a bit too drunk to be discouraged, Blinks laughed it off.
"Dey'll do just fine. What's wid youse, anyway? I thought you was lookin forward ta dis party!"
"I said I would go, I nevah said I would like it. An' I aint dancin' neither!"
"What? You aint dancin'?" Blinks clutched at his heart, jaw dropped in mock dismay. "But Race, you gotta! Just let yaself soar, lover boy!"
"I'd sink."
The newsie shook his head, throwing strands of dirty blonde hair every which way. "Listen, Brudda, you gotta loosen up. If love has you on your back, why, den you jus' push love on it's back! I happen ta know a number of goils who'd gladly fill dat position . . ."
"Kid!" Skittery sighed and threw a strong arm around his two pals. "Come on, bums, da party awaits!"
With a grand gesture, Blinks motioned for his friends to proceed. The three meandered off into the night, talking above the crunch of the leaves underfoot.
"I mean it, fellas." The love sick newsie dropped his voice, glad for the shoddy mask that hid his blush. "I got a bad feelin' about dis. See, I had dis dream. ."
"Yeah? I 'ad a dream too."
"You did?" Race raised an eyebrow.
"Yup. I had a dream dat dreams aint woith a Brooklynite. So what, you got a visit from da great hallucination fairy, an' now you're ready ta give up?"
Skittery snorted out a billowing cloud of frost. "Da hallucination fairy, Blink?"
"Yeah! Aint you nevah hoid of her?" With a click of his heels, the innebriated newsie swirled off into the darkness, mounting a nearby wooden bench in one suave leap. "Yup, Race, it were da hallucination fairy alright! See, she's dis tiny little women dat flies around in people's bedrooms at night, tellin' em what ta dream." Blink clutched his hands behind his back with an authoritative scowl adorning his face, pacing across the bench to his friend's amusement. "She makes lover boys like yaself dream of der women, like preachers dream a' der prayers, or rich people dream a' money, or newsies dream a' der papes." Skittery cocked his head at the rush in his friend's voice, the redness in his cheeks, the glare in his eye. "She makes da drunkard sleepin' it off in a back alley behind some horehouse dream a' der next bottle." Faster and faster, angrier and angrier, the words spilled unchecked from his lips. "Da hallucination fairy makes li'l orphans in da streets dream of a roof over der heads, until dey wake up an' find the bulls chasin' em off wid sticks! She's da one who makes young goils lie on der backs in bed an' dream of lyin' down for der husbands. She's da one- " In three quick strides Racetrack crossed the cobblestone streets to stand by his friend, arm's clasping the raging boy's shoulders in desparation.
"Calm down, Blink! Calm down! Dis is all bull!" Blink breathed deeply and swayed slightly in place, struggling to restore the trademark cheerful grin to his distorted features.
"Your right Race. It is bull." Finally, he suceeded in a tight smile that was anything but convincing. "But hey, what do I know. I'm drunk."
"Uh, fellas?" Skittery's cautious voice cut through the sudden, uncomfortable silence. "Maybe we should get ta da Red Hook. We'll be late as it is, an' we don't wanna call attention to ourselves, do we's?" The questions stirred Race and Blink from there stand off.
"You're wrong, Skitts. We's getting dere too soon. Der's somethin' starting heah tanight, something bad. I could feel it." With a shake of his head to clear away the cobwebs of gloom, Racetrack chuckled and marched on. "But what da heck, It's all in da hands of da big guy upstairs. Let's get ta da party, shall we's?" still laughing to himself, he lead the way to Brooklyn.
* * * * * * * *
Alright, I have a confession to make. I have to admit, I'm feeling a bit guilty about blackmailing REVIEWS out of my readers. I shouldn't have threatened discontinuation if you guys didn't REVIEW . I was very, very wrong. It's up to the REVIEWERS and the REVIEWERS alone whether or not they want to REVIEW. Heh heh heh. But do stay tuned for Act 5, dun dun dun!!! They meet atlast!
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*To shortie* - HOO YAH! My own Racetrack muse? Omg, I truly am speechless. I've never gotten a better present, thanx so much! *wipes away tear*. Og gosh, I know, I just realized halfway through chapter 1 what I'd gotten myself into with that whole romeo gig, I want to cry just thinking of the task ahead!! Oh gosh, I'm so happy you like the story! *looks around for someone to hug, when noone can be found, hugs herself* oh, I guess I should go write now, but keep on reading, you make checking my reviews so fun!
*To Misprint*- three times! Three! THANKSOMUCH!!! Racetrack's essence? Really? You think so? *does happy touchdown/review dance* Yay! Here ya go, keep reading!! And thanxabunch!! Oh yes, and keep UPDATING!!!
*To Derby* - Yay! Thanks soooo much to you AND your imaginary friend! You guys rock!! Wait does that mean I only get one thumb up each? Ah well, I'll try not to overthink that, keep reading and reviewing!
*To Morning Dew* - wait just ONE more chapter. . .wait for it. . .wait. . I know I'm such meshuganah. (yiddish for mitzbuchah) Thanks so much for r&r, keep on doin it!!
*CrAzyLyN* - oh dear, I hope by the time you read this chapter you're ungrounded! I do hate it when my reviewers suffer. Yes, here ya go, I'm so glad you like it so far! *Starts to do happy dance, then realizes it's getting VERY old* Any ways stick with it, I promise we're getting to the good parts, but you knew that!!!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Race brushed aside the fallen leaves, tracing a path through the splatters of flaming orange and red with one shoe. He was surprised to find any kind of foliage left on the streets; the trees had been stripped bare for ages now.
"Racetrack me boy!" with a start, he looked up to see Skittery and Kid Blink shuffling towards him, breaths hovering in the chilly air infront of their faces like a pair of jubilant chain smokers. He beamed as Blink reached out and smacked his cheek. "Where ya been all me life, kiddo?"
"'Ey, Blink. Skitts." Skittery flashed his friend a welcoming grin.
"Bruddah, get ready ta forget all about dat Bristols goil. Tonight is gonna be great, you'll see." Race shook his head, cringing as the sour stench of whisky on Blink's breath blasted him square in the face.
"What you two bummers seem ta be forgetting is dat dis is Spot's party. It'll be crawlin' wid Brooklynites. We can't just pop in like daisies for a Sunday picnic."
"Race, you're breakin' me heart. Don't you t'ink I thought of dat?" Blink drove a fist into the torn pocket of his ragged tweed overcoat, mischief twinkling from his one good eye. "Ta da!"
"Oh, no. NO." Race studied the masks clutched triumphantly in his friend's hand. They glimmered in the moonlight; three identical concoctions of newspapers and string. "Forget it, Blink. I aint wearin' no mask. And anyway, Baron might not be da brightest pape in da stack, but even he aint dumb enough ta fall for dese." Slightly insulted, but still a bit too drunk to be discouraged, Blinks laughed it off.
"Dey'll do just fine. What's wid youse, anyway? I thought you was lookin forward ta dis party!"
"I said I would go, I nevah said I would like it. An' I aint dancin' neither!"
"What? You aint dancin'?" Blinks clutched at his heart, jaw dropped in mock dismay. "But Race, you gotta! Just let yaself soar, lover boy!"
"I'd sink."
The newsie shook his head, throwing strands of dirty blonde hair every which way. "Listen, Brudda, you gotta loosen up. If love has you on your back, why, den you jus' push love on it's back! I happen ta know a number of goils who'd gladly fill dat position . . ."
"Kid!" Skittery sighed and threw a strong arm around his two pals. "Come on, bums, da party awaits!"
With a grand gesture, Blinks motioned for his friends to proceed. The three meandered off into the night, talking above the crunch of the leaves underfoot.
"I mean it, fellas." The love sick newsie dropped his voice, glad for the shoddy mask that hid his blush. "I got a bad feelin' about dis. See, I had dis dream. ."
"Yeah? I 'ad a dream too."
"You did?" Race raised an eyebrow.
"Yup. I had a dream dat dreams aint woith a Brooklynite. So what, you got a visit from da great hallucination fairy, an' now you're ready ta give up?"
Skittery snorted out a billowing cloud of frost. "Da hallucination fairy, Blink?"
"Yeah! Aint you nevah hoid of her?" With a click of his heels, the innebriated newsie swirled off into the darkness, mounting a nearby wooden bench in one suave leap. "Yup, Race, it were da hallucination fairy alright! See, she's dis tiny little women dat flies around in people's bedrooms at night, tellin' em what ta dream." Blink clutched his hands behind his back with an authoritative scowl adorning his face, pacing across the bench to his friend's amusement. "She makes lover boys like yaself dream of der women, like preachers dream a' der prayers, or rich people dream a' money, or newsies dream a' der papes." Skittery cocked his head at the rush in his friend's voice, the redness in his cheeks, the glare in his eye. "She makes da drunkard sleepin' it off in a back alley behind some horehouse dream a' der next bottle." Faster and faster, angrier and angrier, the words spilled unchecked from his lips. "Da hallucination fairy makes li'l orphans in da streets dream of a roof over der heads, until dey wake up an' find the bulls chasin' em off wid sticks! She's da one who makes young goils lie on der backs in bed an' dream of lyin' down for der husbands. She's da one- " In three quick strides Racetrack crossed the cobblestone streets to stand by his friend, arm's clasping the raging boy's shoulders in desparation.
"Calm down, Blink! Calm down! Dis is all bull!" Blink breathed deeply and swayed slightly in place, struggling to restore the trademark cheerful grin to his distorted features.
"Your right Race. It is bull." Finally, he suceeded in a tight smile that was anything but convincing. "But hey, what do I know. I'm drunk."
"Uh, fellas?" Skittery's cautious voice cut through the sudden, uncomfortable silence. "Maybe we should get ta da Red Hook. We'll be late as it is, an' we don't wanna call attention to ourselves, do we's?" The questions stirred Race and Blink from there stand off.
"You're wrong, Skitts. We's getting dere too soon. Der's somethin' starting heah tanight, something bad. I could feel it." With a shake of his head to clear away the cobwebs of gloom, Racetrack chuckled and marched on. "But what da heck, It's all in da hands of da big guy upstairs. Let's get ta da party, shall we's?" still laughing to himself, he lead the way to Brooklyn.
* * * * * * * *
Alright, I have a confession to make. I have to admit, I'm feeling a bit guilty about blackmailing REVIEWS out of my readers. I shouldn't have threatened discontinuation if you guys didn't REVIEW . I was very, very wrong. It's up to the REVIEWERS and the REVIEWERS alone whether or not they want to REVIEW. Heh heh heh. But do stay tuned for Act 5, dun dun dun!!! They meet atlast!
[pic] [pic]
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