"Someone had too much fun last night," Slider taunted as she shook me
awake.
I looked up at her confused. "What?" was my intelligible response. She shook her head laughing.
"Dat goofy grin on ya face. Ya look like a guy dat just got laid."
Defensively I stated, "You were sleeping in the same room as me all night, do you think I did anything? Could I have? That would be a no."
"I'se just playin' wit' ya," she said, taking a step away.
"Of course," I answered good-naturedly.
Fingers walked over. "We all know Sli puts in quite a few excitin' nights."
This comment erupted laughter from all of the girls in our room, me included. That is, until I realized something. "That's my brother you're talking about!" I yelled, very disgusted. My exclamation created even more amusement for the girls, most of whom were doubled over cracking up. "Honestly," I sighed as I walked out the door.
"Spark?" I heard Race call. "Can I talk ta ya for a minute?"
"Of course," I whispered back, before following him into a closet. I had no idea what to expect, and therefore I was nearly shaking with anticipation. I also knew that at any moment Spot, or any other of the newsies, could burst in and find us in a closet. Not exactly a prime situation, eh?
"I wanna see ya, Spark. I wasn't playin' last night when I kissed ya. I ain't da same as I was before you. I used ta use goils, but ya really mean somethin' ta me."
I breathed heavily as I took this in. Racetrack liked me. Not only that, but he liked me as much as I liked him. I asked in a hushed tone, "What are you trying to say?"
I could sense nervousness in his voice as he asked, "Will ya be my goil?"
Speechless, I nodded. He slipped his hand into mine and opened the closet door with both of us grinning. We walked down to the meeting room like that, where heated discussions were already occurring.
"Dis is da part wheah we don' talk business, boys," Jack was saying, trying to calm everyone down. As he was being ignored, he resorted to yelling. "Ya bums! We ain't heah ta fight. Dis is da breakfast, we'se heah ta eat!"
Eventually, the talking died down and boys began to get food from the trays and sit down eating. I found myself seated at a table with all the Brooklyn and Manhattan newsies. Smith and Fingers snuck off at one point during the meal, and I'm pretty sure what happened there. Slider and Michael were once again talking, which I took as a good sign. Race and I exchanged more than one secret smile, and eventually the inevitable happened. Michael noticed.
"What you two know dat I don'?" Spot asked suddenly while Race and I were looking at each other.
"Nothing," I said quickly, at exactly the same time as Race said, "We don' know nothin'."
"Ya do know somethin', an' I gonna find out what it is," he vowed.
"Spot, I love you, but sometimes you can be a stubborn little ass," I told him angrily. After all, I thought, why couldn't I have a guy without him having to know it. He didn't approve of me and Race anyway. I don't think he approved of me with anyone. Except maybe Roman, because Roman knew better than to make a move on me.
"Don' ya evah call me dat. You'se me charge, ya should have some respect for me. I could've thrown ya out on da street when ya came heah."
"You did," I reminded him.
He looked thoughtful for a moment, unable to deny that. When I first came to the area to find him he insulted me and showed no sign of giving me a place to live. "Well, I took ya in da end, didn' I?"
"Exactly. But I didn't know I was signing myself up for prison when I went to live with you," I retorted.
"I'm lookin' out for ya best interests."
"My best interests? Ha! What if being Racetrack's girl is in my best interest, how would you know?" I yelled as I stood up and stormed off. I knocked over my chair, but I didn't care. I wanted to get away from my jailer as fast as possible. I ran into the room I'd been sleeping in and tossed myself onto the bed, sobbing into my pillow.
"Alex?" Race asked in a soft voice.
"Don't come in here. I'm not at my best, this isn't something you want to see," I told him without removing my head from the pillow.
"Too late. I'm already in here. And you don't look bad at all. You're always gorgeous, Spark, you really are," he said, kissing my cheek lightly.
I sat up and noticed that he was sitting at the foot of my bed. "You don't really mean that. And if you want to break up with me over Spot, don't try to sugar coat it."
"What gives you that idea?" he asked hurt. "I ain't plannin' on breakin' up wit' ya. I really care about ya, Alex, and I'm willing ta woik ta make this relationship happen. You're worth the effort. But for now," he said, but never got a chance to finish his sentence, as he kissed me instead.
I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment of passion. All of that passion was for me, I realized. Someone loved me. I'm not exactly a hoity-toity girl that lives to impress boys at parties, but I am quite a hopeless romantic. I always wanted a man to truly care about me, not how much money my family had. I knew Racetrack really did, and that satisfied the romantic in me. I also knew that he was one as well. For even though he hid it around his friends, I could tell from our few moments alone that he was more sensitive and caring than his attitude around the other newsies led everyone to believe. While I was thinking about all of this, the kiss progressed, leaving him half on top of me on the bed. I realized where this was going, and sat up.
"Not yet, Race. I'm sorry, but I'm not ready for this," I said.
He looked slightly disappointed, but changed the look quickly. "I know, I know. I understand. Not ta say I don' want ta if ya change ya mind, but I respect ya wishes. If ya want ta wait, I'll wait."
"Thank you," I whispered. Raising the volume of my voice I said, "Let's go to the meeting now.
Shoutouts (Yay, these never get less fun!!)-
Sprite- Thank you for reviewing. again!! I love getting your reviews, they always make me feel better. And thank you for the review over IM too (ff.net is being evil right now). When you update, I promise really really long reviews from me!!
Fingers- You're together, all right? Now get writing or I shall kill you.
Slider- House number, eh? Is it still there? That must be a great way to meet guys. Haha. Okay, here's responses to your comments in order.
Of course you notice him.
Of course you love him.
We all know Karth is your long lost twin brother!!
Having fun with the damn rights? Yes, yes, Devy is my hero!
My true newsie name? Oh great.
* Dies from laughter as well * Okay, that and the fact that I would so not make Race stop if he was on top of me are where I differ from Ms. Conlon over here. Oh well.
You know it! Brandon knows it too * grins evilly *
I do want to. Well, him and Jeff for that matter. But no, I do have morals. I really do!! Okay, maybe less in this story than in real life though. I have morals! Don't listen to what Brandon tells you!
Spot's not an ass, just protective. He means well, he really does.
The vendor is based on that homeless man in your neighborhood. LOL we were talking about the ghetto today in temple for some reason and I was like, "Yes, I was in the ghetto and this homeless man was staring at me so I walked away and then he followed me and I had to run up this hill and run into my friends house, but when I looked out the window he was still there." Yep, yep.
Okay, that's all folks. (Can't you just see a little Porky the Pig at the end of each chapter saying that? Haha. Byya!!
CTB,
Alexandra Rachel "Spark" Conlon Higgins (Dude that's a long name!)
I looked up at her confused. "What?" was my intelligible response. She shook her head laughing.
"Dat goofy grin on ya face. Ya look like a guy dat just got laid."
Defensively I stated, "You were sleeping in the same room as me all night, do you think I did anything? Could I have? That would be a no."
"I'se just playin' wit' ya," she said, taking a step away.
"Of course," I answered good-naturedly.
Fingers walked over. "We all know Sli puts in quite a few excitin' nights."
This comment erupted laughter from all of the girls in our room, me included. That is, until I realized something. "That's my brother you're talking about!" I yelled, very disgusted. My exclamation created even more amusement for the girls, most of whom were doubled over cracking up. "Honestly," I sighed as I walked out the door.
"Spark?" I heard Race call. "Can I talk ta ya for a minute?"
"Of course," I whispered back, before following him into a closet. I had no idea what to expect, and therefore I was nearly shaking with anticipation. I also knew that at any moment Spot, or any other of the newsies, could burst in and find us in a closet. Not exactly a prime situation, eh?
"I wanna see ya, Spark. I wasn't playin' last night when I kissed ya. I ain't da same as I was before you. I used ta use goils, but ya really mean somethin' ta me."
I breathed heavily as I took this in. Racetrack liked me. Not only that, but he liked me as much as I liked him. I asked in a hushed tone, "What are you trying to say?"
I could sense nervousness in his voice as he asked, "Will ya be my goil?"
Speechless, I nodded. He slipped his hand into mine and opened the closet door with both of us grinning. We walked down to the meeting room like that, where heated discussions were already occurring.
"Dis is da part wheah we don' talk business, boys," Jack was saying, trying to calm everyone down. As he was being ignored, he resorted to yelling. "Ya bums! We ain't heah ta fight. Dis is da breakfast, we'se heah ta eat!"
Eventually, the talking died down and boys began to get food from the trays and sit down eating. I found myself seated at a table with all the Brooklyn and Manhattan newsies. Smith and Fingers snuck off at one point during the meal, and I'm pretty sure what happened there. Slider and Michael were once again talking, which I took as a good sign. Race and I exchanged more than one secret smile, and eventually the inevitable happened. Michael noticed.
"What you two know dat I don'?" Spot asked suddenly while Race and I were looking at each other.
"Nothing," I said quickly, at exactly the same time as Race said, "We don' know nothin'."
"Ya do know somethin', an' I gonna find out what it is," he vowed.
"Spot, I love you, but sometimes you can be a stubborn little ass," I told him angrily. After all, I thought, why couldn't I have a guy without him having to know it. He didn't approve of me and Race anyway. I don't think he approved of me with anyone. Except maybe Roman, because Roman knew better than to make a move on me.
"Don' ya evah call me dat. You'se me charge, ya should have some respect for me. I could've thrown ya out on da street when ya came heah."
"You did," I reminded him.
He looked thoughtful for a moment, unable to deny that. When I first came to the area to find him he insulted me and showed no sign of giving me a place to live. "Well, I took ya in da end, didn' I?"
"Exactly. But I didn't know I was signing myself up for prison when I went to live with you," I retorted.
"I'm lookin' out for ya best interests."
"My best interests? Ha! What if being Racetrack's girl is in my best interest, how would you know?" I yelled as I stood up and stormed off. I knocked over my chair, but I didn't care. I wanted to get away from my jailer as fast as possible. I ran into the room I'd been sleeping in and tossed myself onto the bed, sobbing into my pillow.
"Alex?" Race asked in a soft voice.
"Don't come in here. I'm not at my best, this isn't something you want to see," I told him without removing my head from the pillow.
"Too late. I'm already in here. And you don't look bad at all. You're always gorgeous, Spark, you really are," he said, kissing my cheek lightly.
I sat up and noticed that he was sitting at the foot of my bed. "You don't really mean that. And if you want to break up with me over Spot, don't try to sugar coat it."
"What gives you that idea?" he asked hurt. "I ain't plannin' on breakin' up wit' ya. I really care about ya, Alex, and I'm willing ta woik ta make this relationship happen. You're worth the effort. But for now," he said, but never got a chance to finish his sentence, as he kissed me instead.
I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment of passion. All of that passion was for me, I realized. Someone loved me. I'm not exactly a hoity-toity girl that lives to impress boys at parties, but I am quite a hopeless romantic. I always wanted a man to truly care about me, not how much money my family had. I knew Racetrack really did, and that satisfied the romantic in me. I also knew that he was one as well. For even though he hid it around his friends, I could tell from our few moments alone that he was more sensitive and caring than his attitude around the other newsies led everyone to believe. While I was thinking about all of this, the kiss progressed, leaving him half on top of me on the bed. I realized where this was going, and sat up.
"Not yet, Race. I'm sorry, but I'm not ready for this," I said.
He looked slightly disappointed, but changed the look quickly. "I know, I know. I understand. Not ta say I don' want ta if ya change ya mind, but I respect ya wishes. If ya want ta wait, I'll wait."
"Thank you," I whispered. Raising the volume of my voice I said, "Let's go to the meeting now.
Shoutouts (Yay, these never get less fun!!)-
Sprite- Thank you for reviewing. again!! I love getting your reviews, they always make me feel better. And thank you for the review over IM too (ff.net is being evil right now). When you update, I promise really really long reviews from me!!
Fingers- You're together, all right? Now get writing or I shall kill you.
Slider- House number, eh? Is it still there? That must be a great way to meet guys. Haha. Okay, here's responses to your comments in order.
Of course you notice him.
Of course you love him.
We all know Karth is your long lost twin brother!!
Having fun with the damn rights? Yes, yes, Devy is my hero!
My true newsie name? Oh great.
* Dies from laughter as well * Okay, that and the fact that I would so not make Race stop if he was on top of me are where I differ from Ms. Conlon over here. Oh well.
You know it! Brandon knows it too * grins evilly *
I do want to. Well, him and Jeff for that matter. But no, I do have morals. I really do!! Okay, maybe less in this story than in real life though. I have morals! Don't listen to what Brandon tells you!
Spot's not an ass, just protective. He means well, he really does.
The vendor is based on that homeless man in your neighborhood. LOL we were talking about the ghetto today in temple for some reason and I was like, "Yes, I was in the ghetto and this homeless man was staring at me so I walked away and then he followed me and I had to run up this hill and run into my friends house, but when I looked out the window he was still there." Yep, yep.
Okay, that's all folks. (Can't you just see a little Porky the Pig at the end of each chapter saying that? Haha. Byya!!
CTB,
Alexandra Rachel "Spark" Conlon Higgins (Dude that's a long name!)