Chapter Fourteen

Sapphy grumbled as she looked up at the gray sky and saw the clouds rolling in, heavy with water, ready to pour down the incoming rain. Nobody dared sell during the rain. It was just too hard. It was only for the best, the brave ones that wanted to keep on selling and earning money. She sighed as she looked for another story and shouted out a headline. Even though it was going to rain, she was going to sell as much as she can just before it was going to start. A swell of relief flowed through her as she saw a middle-aged man walk towards her and offer her a penny, as she happily gave him his paper.

"Sapphy!"

She turned around to see a familiar face. Anthony. A dark blue newsie cap was placed on his head, hiding his black hair, a shield from the sun and the rain. His dark brown eyes shone as he waved at Sapphy, running towards her, his hands in the air. Sapphy smiled to herself as she looked at him. She was grateful for his friendship. It was him that she had gotten back to her usual self. She could still remember that night when she had told him what she had felt… it was a great burden off her shoulders. Who would've thought it would be so easy just to solve her problem? All she needed to do was talk, and there he was.

You could say that they were best friends… almost inseparable. They were each other's lucky charm, drinking buddy, and selling partner. Slowly but surely, everyone became accustomed to having the two of them together. It was just normal for them. Italy and Sapphy. It fit. But then nobody knew that it was much more than that. Their friendship grew with each day as they looked out for each other, helped each other, and talked with each other. It was something nobody could ever take away.

There were nights when Sapphy hoped that it would be much more. She wanted to hear his laughter all around her, run her fingers through his hair, stare into his eyes as long as she wanted, and just have him near her. But then her thoughts would suddenly snap back to reality as she realized that it was just Italy. Is that even possible? She laughed at herself for her foolishness. She couldn't… could she? She bit her lip, as she looked him, running towards her. It was just Italy, but she knew within herself that she wanted to change what they have. But she wouldn't… she didn't want to ruin the greatest friendship she had ever had.

"You almost done? It's starting to rain!" said Anthony as he slowed down to a walk and stood next to her, raindrops slowly falling on his face.

"What do you think? It's only mid-morning and its already raining!" Sapphy turned to look at Anthony, then shouted another headline.

Anthony chuckled. "Aw, come on, Sapphy, don't be such a grouch! I have papes to sell too!" He held up his papers in hand, showing Sapphy how much he still had to go.

"I still find it so funny that you say papes now… with the accent and everything…" said Sapphy as she handed another paper to a young boy, who looked much like Snipeshooter.

Anthony rolled his eyes as he took Sapphy's hand. "It's starting to rain harder… we're gonna get soaked!" She let her fingers curl into his hand as he tugged at her and ran towards the nearest shade that they could find. Her hair flew behind her as she ran along with him, her feet sloshing beneath her. They looked around, hoping to find shade when Sapphy saw two familiar figures before her.

"Wait…" said Sapphy as she skidded to a stop and tugged Anthony's hand. He looked back at her curiously, wanting to know what was going on but still wanting to leave at the same time.

"Isn't that Strider and Mush?" exclaimed Sapphy as she pointed towards two figures running against the rain. They seemed to be running towards a small building, its beige colored paint peeling off, and double doors that served as an entrance.

"Hey… it is… but where are they going?" said Anthony as he took a step near Sapphy and looked at Strider and Mush. But before he could utter another word, Sapphy was shouting wildly, calling Strider and Mush towards them. Before he knew it, the four of them were standing together side by side, their clothes dripping wet, as they listened to the sermon that the priest before them gave to his listening audience.

~*~

Anthony did his best to fix his hair as he took his seat. Who would've thought that they were going to church? When he first saw Strider and Mush he thought that they were just going to look for someplace to run away from the rain, the same as he and Sapphy. But his thoughts suddenly dawned on him that they might be together. He felt a twinge of jealousy as he saw them together, but he was assured when they found out that they were just going to church… something that they had slowly grown accustomed to. Through the days, he slowly found himself getting attracted to Strider more and more. He thought that it would be much easier if he would just tell her… straight out. But he didn't want to rush. He wanted to take things one step at a time.

"Boy, quit fixing your hair and listen to me," said the priest as he looked at Anthony, snapping him away from his thoughts. Sure, they found a dry place, but he didn't think it was a church. The people inside were as diverse as he could think of. There were people of all ages, skin colors, and accents, but they all came together to listen to what the priest had had to say.

Anthony nodded back at the priest and confidently answered, "Just making sure I look presentable, that's all." He could hear a smirk come from Sapphy as he looked back up at the priest.

"How about you and your friends come up here and tell us about how God is in your life… since you're made sure to look presentable and all," said the priest teasingly as he looked at the four of them.

"Umm… sure…" said Anthony as he looked at Strider, Sapphy, and Mush. The three of them gave him uncertain looks as they followed him up to where the priest where standing. The four of them all stared out into the sea of faces before them, unaware of what they should do.

"Come on…" urged the priest. "You gotta at least have something…"

Anthony turned to look at Sapphy, who seemed to be whispering with Strider and gave each other a nod and a smile. Finally, Sapphy looked at him, harmonica in hand and said, "Take this… and just play your heart out…" He stared at her blankly, but she smiled back and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry."

"Took me a while… but I'm finally here… I just want to testify, make it crystal clear… see, I've been picked out, to be picked on, talked about… I've been beat down… 'till he turned my life around…"

Anthony suddenly heard a singing voice, floating to his ears, with gracefulness, smoothness, and confidence all rolled into one. He looked about him to see who it was. Sapphy. He beamed at her as she continued on, a smile playing on her lips and a glint showing in her eyes. He had never seen her like this before. Her voice was angelic and peaceful… why was she hiding it?

"Seems like I always fall short of being worthy 'cause I ain't good enough, but He still loves me… I ain't no superstar, no spotlight shining on me… 'cause I ain't good enough, but He still loves me…"

A different voice rang in his ears… it had to be Strider. Geez, these girls could start their own show. He knew that they could sing, but he didn't know that they could sing. The melodious and harmonic feeling of the song slowly flowed through him as he played the harmonica and Mush clapped his hands to the rhythm of the song.

"I'm not perfect

(I'm not perfect)

Yes, I do wrong

(Yes, I do wrong)

I'm trying my best

(Trying my best but)

But it ain't good enough

(Just ain't good enough)

Shunned by the world

If I don't succeed

'Cause I ain't good enough

But He still loves me

(I just ain't good enough)

Would you love me?"

~*~

"That was amazing, Sapphy! Who would've thought? I mean I thought we were going to talk… but sing!" said Anthony as he took another swig of his drink.

Sapphy smiled as she raised her eyebrow. "You sound like you haven't heard me sing before!"

"That's 'cause I haven't!" retorted Anthony.

"You didn't sound too surprised when you heard Strider, did you?" teased Sapphy.

"That's 'cause I've heard her sing before… well, kinda… hey, Sapphy…"

"Mm-mmhm?" mumbled Sapphy as she kept her eyes on the racing horses.

"Will you talk to her? You know… butter me up?"

Sapphy's eyes widened as she looked at Anthony and gave a smirk. "What? Butter YOU up? You sound like somebody's about to eat you!"

"You know what I mean, Sapphy! You know how I feel about…"

Sapphy looked back at the horses as she thought of what she would do. Of course, she knew how he felt. How could she not? He had talked to her about her endless times. It was surprising that Strider didn't know. But Sapphy kept it to herself.

"So will you?" asked Anthony as he stared at her.

She sighed as she glanced back at him and nodded her head. " 'Course I will."

After the church event, it had thankfully stopped raining. Maybe it was because of Strider and Sapphy's voices, but he thanked God that the sun came out. Literally. Now here they were, sitting at the stands as they watched the horses race with all their might, the jockeys urging them on to win the race. The sound of a bell resounded in the air as the horses stopped in the finish line, marking the end of the race and placing of bets.

Anthony groaned as they announced the winner. Number Ten. He had only been one away… he had picked number nine. So much for luck.

"Aw, come on, Italy… at least you didn't bet a lot of money, did you?" asked Sapphy as she looked at Anthony. She was slowly getting familiar with his gambling habits, betting on horses and anything he could get his hands on. But what scared her the most was that one day, he would use up all his money and have nothing left.

"Nah, not today… besides, I already gave some of my money to offertory this morning…" answered Anthony. "Look… its Mr. Jones!"

They bounded down the steps, careful not to trip or fall. The elderly man waved back at them and smiled warmly as he held the horse's harness and ran his hand through its back.

"You kids should be leaving sometime soon… they're going to be closing up in a few," said Mr. Jones.

"We still have time!" retorted Anthony.

"Wow… what's her name?" asked Sapphy as she took a step forward and ran her fingers through the horse's hair.

"A beauty, ain't she? Name's Athena. Since I've still got some work to do… how 'bout the two of you take her around for a walk?" He motioned towards Italy as he gave him the reins. "She's still tame, so you have nothing to worry about… and you've been here so many times with me that you should now by now how to handle horses. I'll just be right there, taking care of the other horses, alright?"

Anthony nodded as he took the reins in his hands and looked back at Sapphy.

"You better know how 'cause if she does anything wild, I'm running and blaming everything on you," answered Sapphy.

Anthony chuckled and started to walk around the clearing before them. "You heard Mr. Jones… she's tame… and I've been here so many times!"

"Racetrack… that's it!"

"Huh? You talking to yourself, Sapphy?"

"No… a new nickname for you…" said Sapphy as she rolled her eyes and followed him across the field. The smell of grass, horses, and sweat mingled about them. The moon shone above them and the stars blinked back, giving off enough light.

"What's wrong with Italy?"

"Nothing… but it just sounds like it fits you… race… racetrack…"

"Good-looking?" replied Anthony with a wink.

Sapphy rolled her eyes and exclaimed. "Noo… racetrack! Don't you think so?"

"Racetrack… that could work. But you didn't think that good-looking could work?" said Anthony teasingly.

But before Sapphy could answer, a whistle resounded in the air, causing Athena to jump and gallop back towards Mr. Jones. Sapphy and Anthony, however, unexpectedly got knocked down on the ground as Athena galloped back, leaving them on the grass.

"Well, at least she knows who to go back to…" said Sapphy as she dusted her blouse with her hands and sat up on the grass.

"Yeah…" answered Anthony as he sat next to Sapphy and held his hat in his hands. "You know, Racetrack could work…"

"See? I'm so smart!" Sapphy beamed as she giggled and ruffled his hair. "My little Racetrack!"

Anthony gave a grin as he moved over to tickle her stomach causing her to fall down with laughter and giggles, dragging him down with her. For a minute everything stood still. He stayed on top of her, his eyes looking back down at her big blue eyes and almost invisible freckles dotted on her face. Her strawberry-blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders and her fair skin glowed by the moonlight. He felt his heart swell up with feeling and sensation as he looked at her. Why was he feeling this way? He liked Strider… that's it, Strider.

"ITALY! QUIT PLAYIN AROUND! IT'S CLOSIN TIME! LET'S GO!" shouted Mr. Jones as he looked at the two from the distance.

Anthony jumped as he heard his voice and gave a weak smile as he slowly stood up and gave Sapphy a hand to help her up. She mumbled a "thank you" as she stood up from her seat and started dusting her dress with her hands from the grass and dirt that clung here and there. An awkward silence hung in the air as they started walking back towards the Lodging House. For a split second, Anthony saw Sapphy in a different light. Sure, they were friends, but he had never thought of it that way. Besides, she was going to help him with Strider, right? Everything was going to work out. Of course it was.

"So… you're going to talk to her, right?" asked Anthony as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at her with care.

Sapphy gave a weak smile and glanced at Anthony before looking back at the Lodging House before them. "Sure… what are friends for?"

Anthony stopped in his tracks as they entered the Lodging House and looked at Sapphy. Something was wrong, and he could feel it. She looked back at him with uncertainty and shifted from one foot to another, unaware of what to do. Before knowing it, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug. "Thanks…" he mumbled as he buried his face in her hair. He let go, gave her a quick glance, and trudged up the stairs.

He cleared his throat as he thought of what just happened. He was supposed to feel content, wasn't he? He had a home, friends that you can call family, enough money that supported him, a best friend that he could never replace, and soon enough, maybe a girl. But inside, why was he feeling like this? Sapphy is his friend. Right? Then, why did he see that glimpse of pain when he pulled away when he gave her a hug? They've hugged before… why was this one so different? Anthony rubbed his eyes as he sat down on his bed. How did this get so complicated?

~*~

yay, i finally got to updating! ^^ you know how many times i wanted to write so badly? but now, the play's over and everything's slowly going back to normal. and since we have a four day weekend, i have time to rest and write. ^^ and the play was great! they loved it! although some people didn't see the point (smokey joe's cafe), since it was just a bunch of songs... but it was still fun for us. ooh yeah, and the song that i used is "he still loves me" from the movie the fighting temptations. if anybody wants to listen to a clip of it, just go here:

Shout-outs

Strider: ah, sorry i haven't read your ffs yet! but i will today! ^^ as for the play, its smokey joe's cafe.

Emu: lol, thanks! yay, you can read it now cuz of the bigger font! lol. *wink* the things i do for you! hahah.

Sapphy: hahah, you get to apologize to Tony sometime soon! ^^

cabby: lmao, yeah well guys tend to do that... :P

Bittersweetdragon: ooh, new reviewer! lol. thanks! ^^