Disclaimer: Again, I own the characters you know I own, the other ones belong to their respective authors whom you should know, and Disney owns the real Newsies, again who you should know. Yup.
Hear the Angel Voices
Chapter 2
Hotshot
The hand-me-down jeep pulled up to the church parking lot, though not a soul moved to get out of the car. All their eyes roamed the crowds of people that were entering the church. One by one they found the boat of a car that everyone recognized.
"Well, obviously he's here," Ruin said, "His car's in the parking lot."
"Thank you captain obvious," her boyfriend muttered.
She hit him upside the head.
"Why doesn't someone go look and see if he's inside or not?" Racetrack muttered from his corner of the car.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Hotshot asked from her opposite seat. "Mouse," she spoke into her phone, "Is Specs in there yet? He's not. Ok, thanks. I'll make sure he's there soon."
"The graveyard?" Race asked what everyone was thinking.
"Where else," Pie Eater sighed.
They climbed out of the car and Ruin handed Race a small metal box. "Shade should be with Jack and David on the back steps to the rectory. Go give this to them and tell them we'll be back in a few."
Race met up with the three of them again as they entered the graveyard. Bumlets and Magic were there also; putting flowers on the grave of Magic's grandmother. It wasn't hard to figure out where the group was going and it grew from four to six without a word. They walked along the paved path, knowing the way even in the dark.
They passed the final hill before his grave to find Specs exactly where they'd all known he would be.
* * *
He kneeled on the ground not caring about the fact that his good pants quickly absorbed the puddles on the ground. He didn't care that his clothes would be wet and dirty for church. His eyes were set and slightly glazed over. His limbs stiff, and his breathing panicked.
He reached out to touch the flat marble and the words engraved upon it, the angel on the top. Every word was carefully etched in the beautiful stone. He felt something drip from his cheek and reached up to wipe away the tear tracks, smudging his glasses as he did so. He took a shaking breath.
"Why God? Why did you take him away?"
He read the words that he knew by heart, though he, himself, had not looked upon this stone in many months.
Alexander Durecht
'Dutchy'
Beloved son, brother, and friend.
Life will never be the same without your bright eyes and your even brighter smile.
"Live free, die proud;
have fun, play loud."
It ended in a quote that was purely Dutchy. He could still hear those exact words being uttered from his friend's mouth, and remembered hearing them on an almost daily basis.
"Damnit Dutchy, what the hell were you thinking?" He pounded a fist on the gravestone completely enraged by what he had been dwelling on for the past year. "It should have hit my side of the car and you know it! You know that you bastard, you know it! Why the hell did you have to go and swerve? I should be the one up there, and you should be the one down here with everyone. You should be alive. I…" He choked back a large sob and his other knee struck the ground. He gripped the stone not only in grief but now also for balance as well. "I can't do this without you."
His knuckles were turning white from the grip he had on the tombstone. Another one of his deep, shaking breaths and he focused his gaze on the angel that adorned the top of the stone. As he continued the cry his mind smiled. An angel on Dutchy's tombstone was almost ironic. Dutchy was far from being an angel. He remembered the two of them doing so many stupid things since they'd become friends all those years ago. It didn't matter that they had avoided punishment or even being caught most of the time. The time Dutchy got really buzzed or the time he almost got them beat up by insulting a group of guys from the next town after an away football game. There'd been that incident with the weed, but that had only happened once. The pranks they two of them had pulled had often been stupid, some very much so. Of course they'd also been hilarious at the time and left them with so many stories to tell. He realized that he was openly bawling now and gasped for breath, trying to get himself under control.
"You call yourself a merciful God," he yelled, "Than how the hell could you do something like this. He was only sixteen. It wasn't his time yet. And his parents, God…" his voice cracked, "he was all they had; you should see them. Fuck, what the hell kind of a God would take away someone that so many people love. I wish you could turn back time and make it me instead. He didn't deserve anything like that to happen to him. He didn't deserve to die, and mostly not like that. How could you take my best friend. I hate you!
"Damnit Dutchy, you don't know how much I need you around down here. It doesn't work like it used to. I don't want to have to live like this." He sobbed again, loudly. "Why couldn't it have been me? Do you have any idea how much it's not worth it to be here without you around. It was my fault anyway. If you hadn't had to drive me home you would've never had to drive down that road. I want out. I want a way to feel like I'm not stuck in some fucking black hole anymore." He broke again and the tears streamed down his face. He didn't even bother trying to calm down.
He'd been sitting there for a few minutes when a hand came down on his shoulder. He reached up and put his opposite hand over it. That person's other hand came down on the back of his neck and whoever it was crouched next to him. He gripped her arm more tightly as she hugged him to her.
"I know," she whispered, "I'm so sorry Specs."
Together they sat like that until the worst of the sobbing was over. She stood and helped to pull him up, off of his knees. He pulled her into a tight hug that he desperately needed. He hadn't known there was anyone else there until suddenly there were several other people in the hug.
His girlfriend's lips found his cheek for a moment and she spoke quietly to him. "It wasn't you fault. You know that Dutchy wouldn't want you to blame yourself. Just imagine how he would be right now if it had been you." She embraced him more tightly and they all cried.
* * *
They all arrived back at the stairs where David, Jack and shade were sitting a few minutes later. There were several other people surrounding the stairs. Snitch and Lute were there, as were Mush, Blink, Snoddy, and other kids from school. The happiest faces they could manage covered their faces. The box Race had brought earlier lay open in Jack's lap. Inside were several pieces of paper, each folded in half and covered with writing.
Each of them took another piece of paper and passed the pencil around as they wrote down their 'wishes.' It had been a tradition Dutchy had started several years earlier. God only knows where he had seen it or thought of it. Before the church service several of them had met up in the same spot and written their Christmas wishes down on paper, and put them in the 'wish box.' Then they set the box on fire and left it in the always empty trashcan to burn. Every year the group grew larger, this year it even included several members of the church choir. Even thought their wishes did not usually come true they kept the tradition up both at Dutchy's insistence and at the fact that it was one thing no one else did.
The last of them tossed their papers into the box and Ruin forced it closed. Shade took the match from her boyfriend's pocked and lit it before throwing it through the slit in the hole on top. One person or another threw it into the trashcan and they all walked away.
Specs pulled his choir uniform from his car and began toward the church with Hotshot. "So what'd you wish for?" he asked.
"That next year would be better for you than this past year was."
"You wasted your wish."
"I don't think so," she grinned, "What about you?"
"Same thing Dutchy wished for every year."
"Snow," she agreed, "That would be nice."
Dutchy had always wished for snow on Christmas eve. It had yet to happen. It either rained or there was already snow on the ground. This year the ground was bare and the forecast told of clear weather.
Specs shrugged on his robe as they climbed the steps. He nearly ran into a man at the top of the stairs. "I'm sorry sir- Mr. Durecht…"
"Matthew," Dutchy's father smiled, "Me and Melinda have been looking all over for you. Melinda, over here."
Specs' face was grim as both of Dutchy's parents stood in front of him, but Mrs. Durecht hugged him tightly. "It's good to see you Sweetheart," she said, "but why do you look so sad. Specs sweetie, it's Christmas Eve. Dutchy would want you to be happy. You know this was his favorite holiday."
"Yeah," Specs couldn't help but grin as he agreed, "it was."
Mr. Durecht handed Specs a small box wrapped in red paper, "This was under our tree last Christmas. We were so busy then, and you haven't been around at what seemed like an appropriate time to give it to you."
Specs gave the box a once-over as he accepted it. The tag read To: Specs, From: Dutchy. He tried to remember what he'd gotten Dutchy the year before and remembered only that it had been something insignificant. "Thanks," he managed.
"Now Specs sweetie, do you know who they gave Dutchy's solo to this year." Mrs. Durecht spoke of the solo that Dutchy had won for the past four or so years.
"I know him," Specs admitted, "He's okay, I just hope he does the part justice."
The three bid each other a happy Christmas and split up. Specs walked along the edge of the church with Hotshot.
"You should get to the choir room." She said, "Mouse told me they were preparing to send out a search party to look for you."
"I should go then."
"And Specs, please smile more. If not for Dutchy do it for me. You know how much I despise coming to church."
He grinned at her attempt of humor, "I don't make you come."
"One of you does, just like Pie drags Ruin along. I'll see you after the service." The two split up.
Several minutes later Specs and the other members of the choir took their seats in the front of the church. The preacher began to speak.
A/N: yeah, you know how people say. I'll have a chapter up soon, I promise. Well I say that all the time and when I did it this week I didn't have any time. Damn. Well I hope you guys like this chapter. It's still a bit depressing but I swear the last chapter is much happier. I'm pretty sure some of you can guess a few things that happen.
If you liked it leave me a review. Ok, yeah, I'll be back as soon as I do have time with another chapter.
~Hotshot~~~