Dislcaimer: I don't own Anything But That… it is owned by Mondie. I hardly own anything in here, so if you don't know where it came from, you can ask.
A/N: I'm incredibly pissed right now, because my computer is being stupid, and I can't turn it on, and I can't get to the shoutouts I already wrote for all of you guys, so I'm sorry but for me to get this up tonight, I don't have time to do other ones. I'll make sure I add them in when I add next chapter. I luffle you all!!!!!
I HAVE A NEW AWARD! My new award… longest story without update, goes to Mondie, because she hasn't updated since the beginning of the school year. Yay!… or Boo… for the award. ^_^ Luffle you Mondie!
Where Have All the Muses Gone?
Chapter 2: Inspiration
"Weah are we?" Jack asked, stepping out of his car.
"Looks like we're on a college campus," Dave answered, looking around.
"Ooooh, that girl's cute!" Blink said, oogling a half-naked sorority girl. Race looked as if he'd been kicked in the face. When Spot noticed the boy's expression, he glared at Blink.
Blink ignored these predictable behaviors from his friends and swaggered over to the girl, who was lying on the ground sunbathing. Her blonde hair spilled over her shoulders.
"Hey," he said, dropping to the ground next to her with his toothpaste commercial smile on his face. "How's it goin'?"
The girl didn't answer him. In fact, she didn't even acknowledge that he was there.
"Maybe if you put some pants on she'd talk to you!" Boots yelled at the clothing impaired Newsie.
"AH, wadda you know?" Blink yelled back at him. "Why don't you go find your water wings incase you accidentally walk off a cliff.
Boots made a move toward Blink, but Pie Eater grabbed the boy's suspenders. Jack winked at his Newsies and swept over to Kid Blink and the Nameless-Sorority-Girl. His charisma was turned up so high that Blink could smell it leaking through the air from ten feet away.
"I'se sorry for my friend heah. He don' know how ta treat a fine lady such as yerself." Jack stood smiling down at the college girl. She completely ignored him. Jack's jaw hit the floor. Nobody ignored him! The girl got an odd look on her face, and she nearly dove into her bag. A moment later, she was scribbling words in her notebook so quickly that they were hard to decipher. Blink burst into laughter. "How rude!"
Jack, who was still staring incredulously at the girl, waved his hand in front of her face. She didn't even flinch.
"What's she writin'?" Blink asked, looking over her shoulder. "Dave! Those words… what do they say?"
Dave massaged the back of his neck, which had been bruised by Logan, and looked over the girl's shoulder.
"Louis gently rested his hand on my skirt. I shuddered as it traveled… OH GOD!" Dave stopped reading and backed away, a look of shocked horror on his face.
Blink's eye got wide.
"Why'd ja stop! Keep readin' Dave!"
"No, come on guys. Let's go."
Reluctantly, Blink, Mush, and the others who had gathered tore themselves away from the paper. With last looks at the sunbathing Sorority-Girl, they trudged down the street after their fellow Newsies.
Dave, who was muttering incoherently to himself with one hand never leaving his neck, was paying absolutely no attention whatsoever to where they were going. BIAP!Spot and ABT!Specs skipped and pranced off down the street together. Specs' platform boots looked wonderful with his gold and green hair.
Dutchy noticed something that nobody else seemed to. With every step the boys took, somebody else who had been lounging on the grounds or doing homework exchanged whatever they had in their hands for a pencil and a notebook.
The newsboy shrugged and ducked into an alley where he promptly pulled a little bag from his dirty sweatshirt. He set up one line of the powdery white stuff and the notebooks and pencils bothered him no more.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Yeah, so I'm having absolutely no luck with my new Race/Blink fic."
Race's head snapped so fast that he was sure his neck snapped. Two girls were walking down a side street. Unlike their classmates, they were not yet writing.
"What was that you said?" Race demanded of the girl as he stood on the sidewalk in front of her.
"I don't know, Shot," The other girl said. Neither paid any attention to Racetrack as they walked past him.
"Hey!" Race shouted, jumping up and down. "I'se talkingto you!"
"You know," Dave said, looking thoughtfully at the people surrounding the group of boys. "I don't think that they can see us."
"You know… these two aren't like the rest. Why ain't they writing?" Boots asked, wrestling with one of his orange floaties.
"Let's go with them and find out," Blink suggested.
"Yeah, yeah!" Race agreed eagerly. He fell in step next to Blink as the followed the two girls.
Eventually, they got to a tall building filled with 12 x 14 rooms that each housed two people of the same sex somewhere between the ages of 18 and 24. These are more commonly known as dorm rooms, or jail cells. Take your pick.
"Braids, are you using the internet?" the girl known as Shot asked her friend.
"Nah, go for it. I have homework to do," Braids answered, flapping down on her bed. She looked around the room dejectedly. "You know… we really need to rearrange these stuffed animals. They look like they're set up to play a game of volleyball. No… maybe poker.
"POKER? YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA POKER!" Shot proceeded to throw things around the room until she found a deck of cards. She dropped into one of the few empty spaces left on the floor by the stuffed animals. "Let's play!"
"I was only joking. I have homework to do," Braids said, rolling her eyes and starting her books as if hoping they would come to life and do the homework themselves.
Shot got up dejectedly. "Fine, any objections to the Newsies soundtrack though?"
"Not at all. Just don't put on number ten. I really don't understand that song."
"Okie!" Shot said, beaming again.
Davey, who was leading the group of Newsies at the moment, stopped on the threshold. Mush, Skittery and Snitch all walked right into him.
"Why'd ya all stop?" Snitch asked as Mush rubbed the side of his nose where Skittery had hit him.
"This is a girl's room. We can't go in there unless we're invited," Dave answered.
"Dude! Chill out!" Snitch said, clutching Skittery's arm. "That only counts for straight boys."
Skittery looked disgusted with Snitch, who had punctuated the word straight with an exceptionally tight hung around his midsection.
Clutching Mary Sue (the duct taped box), Mush smiled his big goofy grin and stepped past Davey into the room. When he wasn't forcibly removed by some unseen enchantment, Davey followed.
Shot sat at her computer typing while Braids attempted to take notes from her history book. Newsboys flooded the room, completely unnoticed by the two girls.
Bumlets immediately looked up to the ceiling when he walked through the door. He cursed under his breath at the lack of a fan.
After finding the TV to be of little interest (Braids kept shutting it off and swearing at the remote) Racetrack walked over behind Shot and started reading the computer screen over her shoulder.
Racetrack gave up his gambling addiction for Blink and they lived happily ever after, forever more in slashy goodness. The End.
"Awe, no kid," Race said. "That's terrible. Completely and totally out of character."
Shot let her head drop onto her computer desk.
"BRAIDS! This story is terrible. My Newsies are completely and totally out of character."
"Dat's what I just said. Do you'se want me to help you?"
"I wish someone would help me with this. I just can't do it by myself anymore."
"Okay den, listen ta me. Go back a few paragraphs… no not that part, the part before." Shot moved her curser around on the screen, trying to decide what to change. "Now, take dis down."
Race started dictating. Shot found her fingers flying over the keyboard. She had no idea where the sudden inspiration was coming from, but she was happy to take any direction she could at the moment.
"Race ran the back of his hand down Blink's cheekbone.
'You knows dat I'd do anythin' ta please you'se, Blink, but you can' ask me ta give up everythin' else I love. You mean da woirld ta me. Don' ask me ta stop goin' ta da tracks.'
Blink shuddered. One tear escaped his eye and trailed down his cheek.
'Racetrack, I only want what's best for you, but I don't want you to change. Ever.'
Blink leaned down. His lips were salty from the solitary tear. Racetrack kissed him back, his hand gently snaking its way around Kid's waist until the two boys were pressed against each other.
Maybe, life in New York wasn't so bad after all…"
"Wow," Shot said, staring blankly at her computer screen. "I have no idea who put that into my head, but thank you!"
"You're welcome," Race said from right behind Shot's chair.
Shot screamed as she jumped nearly half a foot in the air. She shrieked loudly as her eyes met those of each Newsboy in the room.
"Race?" shot asked, almost whining.
"What about him?" Braids asked from her position over her books. Snipeshooter was sitting on her bed, playing with the ends of the twin braids in the girl's hair.
"Da one an' only!" Race answered.
"Braids!?!" Shot's voice actually squeaked. Braids looked up exasperatedly.
"Shot really… what do you want? Because I really have to get back to studying if I'm ever going to past my history test tomorrow."
"You… you can't see? You can't see them?" Shot asked staring at Braids and the Newsie sitting right next to her.
"You mean you can see us?" Race asked Shot.
"Of course I can see you!" Shot shouted at him. "You're standing right there!"
"Shot?" Braids asked slowly. "Are you okay honey?"
"I… I'm… I'm way better than okay. I have twenty newsboys in my doormroom! What could be better?!? Why can't she see you?" Shot asked Race, who pulled himself away from Kid Blink. They had begun to act out the scene Shot had just typed out.
AnswerMan!Race, who currently only exists in Gryffin's head, took a moment to ponder the question. Braids had given up all hope that her roommate retained any shreads of sanity and was considering going for the RA.
"I suppose it's because she hasn't been inspired. We are muses, you know. You're the only one who has been able to see us yet… I think it is because you have to know Newsies and be inspired by us muses to see us."
Race got an odd look on his face for a moment and then returned to tracking his tongue around Blink's lips.
"Ooohohhh," shot said to the empty air again, nodding. "Braids, you gotta write something!"
"Hunh?"
"Just… just… trust me. I've lived with you for how long now? Get out your notebook and write something. Anything. Just make it about Newsies."
Braids raised an eyebrow at Shot, but the girl was right. They had been roommates for two years now, and Shot had never done anything to make Braids loose trust in her. She grabbed the pencil offered by the slightly-skitzo girl and pulled out a tablet.
"What exactly am I supposed to write?" Braids asked of Shot.
"Ask, and you shall receive," Shot said, positively beaming.
A moment passed in silence.
"Well?" Braids inquired.
"Just think. And listen. Go with whatever comes to you."
Braids sighed and started tapping her pencil on her notebook.
"That's a good beat," Bumlets said, dropping himself onto the bed.
"Maybe I need something with a good beat. Like a songfic."
Shot smirked.
"It should be about a boy, who wants another boy, with the most beautiful mouth," Bumlets said wistfully.
"Shot? Do you know any songs about lips?" Braids asked.
"I'm sure you'll think of one," shot replied. She was having an incredibly hard time retaining her laughter.
"The only think I can think of is With My Hand on My Heart. Oh well, it'll do."
With my hand on my heart,
What do I care,
This is my floor mopper my momma dear,
I love his curley hair. The streaks of blonde and brown, so far different from my own. I wish I could fall asleep with my fingers locked in his curls.
Rinky-dinky-do
That's what I learned at this camp.
Yeah Yeah.
With my hand on my heart,
What do I care,
This is my sweat boxer my momma dear,
Sweat? I break out in sweat every time I see you. My whole body reacts to even your presence in a room. It gets harder every day to watch you. To see you, so close, but unable to touch you. It hurts.
Rinky-dinky-do
That's what I learned at this camp.
Yeah Yeah.
With my hand on my heart,
What do I care,
This is my eye blinker my momma dear,
Your eyes are deep seas of blue wonder. They have sparkling magic all their own. I wish that they mirrored the love in my eyes for you. But they don't. They never will. You're too good for that. Too good for me.
Rinky-dinky-do
That's what I learned at this camp.
Yeah Yeah.
With my hand on my heart,
What do I care,
This is my nose blower my momma dear,
I wish that you knew. I wish that you knew of all the nights I stayed up in the lodging house. Crying. Crying for you. God, how I wish they had invented Puffs Plus earlier.
Rinky-dinky-do
That's what I learned at this camp.
Yeah Yeah.
With my hand on my heart,
What do I care,
This is my boy kisser my momma dear,
But the best part about you… the most beautiful part of your body is your mouth. The nickname Walking Mouth means so much more. If only I was the boy you kissed. How I wish to caress your perfect mouth with my unworthy lips. But you will never let me. You'll never let me.
Rinky-dinky-do.
That's what I learned at this camp.
Yeah yeah.
Braids looked down at what she had written.
"That's so… moving. I hope that the boy in the song gets his kiss. Wit that kind of reverence and dedication, he deserves it."
"I hope I do too," Bumlets said, looking wistfully at Davey.
Braids snapped her head towards Bumlets. Shot's beaming grin widened. The lock of hair Snipe had been playing with jumped from his hand. The tail end of it caught him in the side of the head.
"OUCH!" Snipe exclaimed.
Braids' head snapped the other way. Bumlets was quick enough to put out so that the lovely locks didn't deliver the same fate to him as they did to Snipeshooter.
"Oohhhhhhhh," the weak wimper escaped Braids' lips as she fainted back onto the Fan God's lap.
"So boys," Shot said, fanning her friend. "Welcome to Jersey."
End Two