THE JOURNAL OF RACETRACK HIGGINS CH 25 – One Last Adventure
Disclaimer: Slash. Don't like it? Don't read it. And I do not own the Newsies.
A/N: yes, I'm finally updating! More from me afterwards. Enjoy :)
8/20/04
My room looks like a bomb hit it. No really… it actually looks that bad. Clothes are everywhere. There is less than a week till I go to college, and I'm trying to pack.
…But it's not going to well. I keep getting interrupted.
I started dumping drawers yesterday morning. But of course, I didn't get time to do anything. Mrs. Conlon barged into my room within fifteen minutes and told me we are going to buy bins and shit that I would need for my dorm. Yeah. That was loads of fun, lemme tell ya.
When we got back to the house, I had a feeling that something was up, but I didn't say anything. I dumped all the things she bought for me at Target in my room, and tried to organize my clothes so I could pack. Again, I only got a little bit done before being interrupted by Spot. This time, it wasn't to go shopping.
"I know you really want to pack but… It's really hot out, and Hailey wants to go swimming. Do you wanna take a break and go in the pool with us for a bit?"
I looked up at him, standing in the doorway in just his swim trunks, in all his shirtless glory. Yes, he really does know me too well. I sighed and threw the jeans I was folding aside. "How could I say no to that?"
Spot smiled. "Good. Get dressed. I'll wait in the hall." He shut the door, and I grabbed the nearest bathing suit I could find and changed into it. Took me like two minutes. Then I managed to somehow find a way out of my room through a tiny cleared pathway of my floor, to find Spot waiting by the stairs.
"That was fast," he remarked, smirking.
"Yeah, shut up. Where's Hailey?"
"Already outside. Come on, let's go."
I followed him downstairs and out onto the deck by the pool. Hailey was nowhere to be seen.
"Uh, Spot? Where's…"
"SURPRISE!"
I jumped as all of my friends came out from behind the pool fence. "What's all this?"
Spot smiled at me. "You're the first of all of us to leave for college… so we all decided to throw a going-away bash for everyone. And we thought it would be fun to play a trick on you."
I laughed. "Of course I'm the guinea pig."
"You always are." Spot gave me a quick and than motioned something to the guys. "Ok, are you ready?"
"For what?"
"This!" Blink yelled, as he, Spot, Jack, Skittery, Mush, Snitch, Dutchy, and Specs grabbed me and threw me into the pool. I came up coughing, as I wasn't expecting that.
"You guys are DEAD!" I shrieked, pulling myself out of the pool, running toward my now hysterically laughing group of friends.
"Oh really?" Spot asked, dodging the first of my lunges, taunting me. "There's eight of us and one of you. Do you really think you'll catch us all?"
"No. I ain't dumb. Right now I'm only concerned with getting one specific person."
"Oh yeah? And who is that?" he said, dodging my grab for him.
"Who the fuck do you think?" I said, laughing as I chased after him and around the pool. "You, stupid ass."
Spot jumped over a lounge chair, kicking it over, blocking my path. "Me? Like you can really catch me, Shortie."
"Shortie?" I retorted, jumping over the chair, trying my hardest to catch him, but not doing so well because I was laughing so hard. "I'm only like, an inch shorter than you. You can't you that as an insult when you're short too!"
"I may be short, but I am taller than you are, Shortie!"
Suddenly, an idea hit me. I stopped running, as did Spot only a few feet away from me, right next to the edge of the pool. "Fine, Oh Tall One, I give up. I can't catch you."
"HAH! I won! I won!" he chanted, doing a 'victory dance.'
I snickered as I silently crept toward him. When I was within arms reach of him (he was still dancing and was oblivious to my movement), I said something. "Yeah, right. Like I'm really gonna give up that easily."
With that, I shoved him with as much strength as my short body could muster. He screamed loudly and fell into the pool with a very ungraceful splat. Everyone around me cracked up.
Spot surfaced, sputtering, and immediately started 'yelling' at me. "I HATE YOU RACE!"
I just laughed. "Revenge is so sweet."
He rolled his eyes at me. "Can you at least help your boyfriend out of the pool?"
…Ok, I admit it. I fell for that.
I nodded and held my hand out for him to grab. And, just like you probably guessed, he pulled me right back into the pool.
I know. I'm really stupid to have fallen for that overdone trick. What can I say? I'm really dumb sometimes.
Overall, the party was extremely fun. Spot got dunked, oh about fifty times. But I really shouldn't brag, seeing as dunked me about forty-nine times.
Anyway, the party went on into the night. People started leaving around midnight. That's when it hit me.
This was probably the last time all my friends would be together before college. Everyone is going to different schools, some closer than others, but still pretty far away.
I've heard from people that once you go to college, your high school friends tend to drift away. I don't want that o happen. My friends are the best anyone could ever ask for.
Ok, I'll cut the sentimental crap now.
And I really should finish packing…
Later!
Racetrack
8/25/04
Holy crap. I leave for college in less than a day… in literally like eight hours. And I've never been away from home for more than a week.
Ok, technically I've been away from 'home' for a while now, but you know what I mean.
I always had these fears in the back of my head, but now that college is a meager couple of HOURS away, I'm scared as shit. I mean, I know there's gotten be some people who will like me, and I know college students are normally more open-minded about gays, but still… What if there's another Brady-type guy there? But at least I know I have one friend already – Davey.
At North, I knew my surroundings and my friends, who I've known for a practically a lifetime, are right there. At Muhlenberg, the closest one of those friends is a good fifty hundred miles away. And I don't even have Spot with me. Yes, I know he's gonna visit me like almost every weekend, but really. He's been my next-door neighbor for basically my whole life, and I've lived with him for the past half of a yea. I don't know what I'll do without him in college. I know I'm gonna miss him.
Especially after today…
Well, I still had a tiny bit of last minute packing to do this morning. (Read: I had only one small bag packed. Everything else was still on my floor.)
"Hey Race, do you…. Holy shit," Spot stopped short as he entered my room. "I thought you said you were basically packed."
I scanned my room with my eyes, and then shrugged. "I am."
"Bullshit. There's more clothes on your floor than there is in your bags. You've been 'packing' all week and this is all you have done? Move over, I'm taking over."
And he did. He put everything in my suitcases within an hour. Don't ask me how but he did. (Mostly by just throwing things in. I was trying to be at least a little organized, but that obviously didn't work.)
Then came packing the car…
Mrs. Conlon's car is a little two-door Miata, and it doesn't fit shit. So there we are, trying to fit four duffel bags, three bins filled with random other shit, and a TV into the car.
Yeah. Didn't happen.
We finished putting in the last bag when Spot realized something. "Uh, Race? Don't you and I have to fit in the car too?" he asked, referring to the fact that the backseat and the passenger seat were all full of my stuff and there was no room for either of us to sit.
I looked at the car, and then looked back to Spot. We stared at each other for a few seconds, before cracking up.
What were we supposed to do now?
Eventually, we working things out… We moved a few bags into Spot's car. Mrs. Conlon would drive up in her car, and Spot would drive me up in his. I was glad for that.
Anyway, after we finally finished, it was dinnertime. Mrs. Conlon made a big deal about this being my last day 'home' until fall break, so she brought Spot, Hailey, and I out to dinner (using Spot's car, obviously) at my favorite restaurant, Craig's.
All throughout the meal, I kept thinking how much Mrs. Conlon and Hailey have become family to me. She's been there for me, through thick and thin. I really don't know where I would be without her. And of course, Hailey is the little sister I never had.
Ok, I'm stopping before I get into another 'mother-rant.' Because even though she 'apologized,' I still don't like her.
Moving on. Dinner was nice. I had my favorite dish, Craig's famous bacon-cheddar-cheeseburger and curly fries. Then we stopped at Coldstone on the way home for an ice cream. Oreo Overload… yummy.
Once we got home, I was pretty tired and wanted to go to bed, but Spot had other plans.
"Get off your ass. You're coming with me."
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see." Spot smirked at me.
He led me to his car. Once we went over the bridge, I knew exactly where we were going. The beach. We got there just as the sun was starting to set.
"Race," Spot said, entwining out hands as we started to walk on the sandy beach, "I just want you to know that I love you."
I looked into his clear blue eyes and smiled. "And I love you too."
Cue the romantic kissing on the beach while the sunsets.
Yes, I know that sounds like so cheesy, but I swear it happened.
Afterwards, I had to say this. "Uh, Spot? You know how you just acted, all mushy and romantic and shit like that, could really ruin your 'tough-guy' rep?"
He 'glared' at me. "If you tell anyone I was all lovey-dovey, I'll kill you Higgins."
I laughed and teased him. "Come back my lovey-dovey baby, and coochie-coo with me."
"You know I am serious, right? I will kill you!"
"I know. That's why I'm running!" And I took off, just as he was about to grab me.
Since I was in the lead, I ran towards the water. Once I was at the shoreline, where the waves come in and out, I stopped short and turned around. Spot wasn't paying attention, and ran right into me and fell into the water.
"Higgins," he said, splashing me from where he said in the little puddle of ocean water, "now you are extremely dead!"
"Aw how cute! My cutey-wooty Spotty is gonna kill me by splashing water at me – Hey, that was my eyes!" I shrieked, for he had just splashed the salty water into my face.
Spot took advantage of my moment of hesitation of whipping my eyes to pull me down, where I proceeded to land right on top of him. (I really think that was his plan…)
So there we were, on top of each other, just staring into each other's wet faces, with the freezing-cold Jersey ocean water all around us.
"Spot, I'm really gonna miss you."
"Oh, now who is the one getting all mushy," Spot teased me.
I splashed him. "Shut up. It's just… for the past few years, I've been either right next door or right down the hallway from you, and tomorrow, I'm not even gonna be in the same state with you. I'm just scared, that's all."
Spot kissed me quickly. "I'm scared too, even though I'm not going away. But don't worry. We'll make it work. I'm gonna make sure we do. I love you to much to have us fail."
"I know. I love you too."
And we proceeded to make-out while still laying on the sand with the water coming in and out. God, I'm so going to miss those kisses…
Eventually, we got up, dried off, and went back to the house to sleep.
Which I can't do. It's two am right now. Too much nerves and excitement to sleep.
We leave in seven hours. Holy crap.
Racetrack
A/N: I'm semi-happy about this chapter. Spot's a little OOC, I know, but yeah… lol
ONE CHAPTER LEFT! I will try my hardest to have this fic finished before the end of June, but I am not promising anything. Especially with summer starting now. hehe.
Shout-outs
Flit: NO! Don't kill Swifty! lol Thankies!
Air: hehe I can just see the little jig you did… lol Thanks!
Sloane Miette: rambling is fun :) hehe thanks for the review!
Hopscotch and Link: Thanks! Glad ya liked it :)
Strawberri Shake: BERRI! Thank god you're alive now! hehe. I missed you! Carrot-2! Lol
Fait aka Taps: hehe. no artistic license. There's a Seaside and the boardwalk in Jersey… I live like ten minutes from it! lol thankies!
Anti IRONY: loved the random reviews! Hehe thankies!
Bittersweet Dragon: hehe thankies for the review!
Kendra: you missed a lot! Oh no! lol.. thankies!
Sara: -glomps- yeah, I know you read this already in class… but oh well. I LOVE YOU!
Gracie: You technically didn't review, but you still get a shoot-out because you read this (and scream at me to update) with sara in history. Hehe. Love ya!
Okies, REVIEW TIME :) Coldstone's Oreo Overload ice-cream to anyone who reviews! Hehe (I love bribing… lol)
-Braids
