The nextday there was a feroucious wind storm. The newsies were forced to stop selling early for lack of buyers and they retreated to the lodging house were they settled for the night.
Jamie, who was having a slight Spot withdrawl since he left for Brooklyn early that morning, was sitting suggestivly close to Blink on one of the battered old sofa's in the lodging house. Blink was nervously adjusting his suspends while Jamie talked to him about... stuff.
"... and then I found out he was only going out with me because... well... you know how guys are," she finished and waited for a response.
"Erm... that's... yea... hmm," Blink said, trying to shift out from under her elbow that had come to rest on his shoulder. Jamie didn't seem to notice his subtle attempts to free himself from her feminine binding. At that moment, Blink was spared any further flirting as Spot Conlon came thundering through the door.
"Holy lord, it's bloody windy!" he said as he took off his thin jacket and dumped it onto a box.
"Eh, Spot," Racetrack said, "wanna join our game?" Race was in the process of whipping Jack, Mush, Star and Mouse at a game of cards.
"Nah, I wanna keep the money I earned today, there sure wasn't a lot of it,"
"Yea I know," Star said as she defetedly threw her cards down on the table.
Jamie, who had moved away from Blink since Spot's arrival was now sitting cross-leged and cross-armed at the other end of the couch.
"Honey Bear, did someone forget to say goodbye to someone this morning?" she said, her voice dripping with feined sweetness. A slilent beat dominoed around the room as other newsie supressed their giggles. People had just accepted Jamie as a new newsie to begin with, now she was a major source of their entertainment. 'She's so fake, what a flirt,' Star thought as she was dealt another loosing hand.
"Umm, sorry, I had to get some stuff done," Spot said. Jamie put up a hand and beckoned Spot to her side. Blink, now feeling less uncomforable but slighty used, got up to give Spot more space.Spot seated himself next to Jamie and was immediatly smothered in a combination of kisses and long black hair. From across the room Star snorted.
Jamie looked up, "Do you have a problem?" she asked icely.
"Nope," Star said smiling, "but there are plenty of other places to stretch out in here... if you don't mind,"
Jamie stuck her nose in the air, but grabbed Spot by the collar and led him into another room, hips swaying with every step.
Star turned back to the game and noticed three pairs of male eyes following the retreating figure.
"She's a bit of a slut in case you havn't noticed," She said cooly, turning Mush's cheek back to the game.
"Possibly...we've kinda been more preoccupied noticin' other things though..." Race sniggered. Jack joined in but Mush just wrapped his arm around his girlfriend.
"Love you," he said. The two of them smiled at each other. Race coughed.
"You two wanna play cards or what?" He asked.
"Nah," Mush said, "I'm gonna call it a night," He got up slowly and Star did the same.
"Yeah, don't know how good sellin's gonna be tomorrow, can't afford to loose any more cash," she said, patting Race on the back. They left Jack, Mouse and Race and went upstairs.
They sat down next to each other on Mush's bunk. Star lovingly stroked Mush's cheek. Mush wrapped his arms around her and lay down, rolling her on top of him.
"You smell good," he said. Star laughed, "what?" he asked.
"You said that so seriously," she laughed some more. Mush laughed a little too, but stopped to pull Star's lips to his. They kissed. Softly at first, then more intensly. Star gently lifted his shirt over his head and rested her chin on Mush's chest. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Star rolled sleepily off Mush and curled up next to him. Mush stroked her hair and lay his head down next to her. He had everything he could ever want right beside him.
Just then a wind-blown figure came thundering up the stairs. It was Switch. He didn't see Mush or Star. He walked hurriedly over to his bunk and quickly changed out of his dirty shirt into a clean one. Mush's eyes were drawn to a thin white scar across Switch's chest. It looked old. Old and deep. Turning around, Switch finally realized he wasn't alone in the room.
"Oh..." he said, quickly pulling his shirt the rest of the way down, "sorry, didn't see you,"
"Don't worry about it," that was the first time Mush had heard Switch apologies for anything since he'd been here. He was still tense around him though. Somthing about Switch kept him on gaurd. Switch walked over and stopped causuly in front of the bunk. He saw Star, asleep, with one of Mush's muscular arms draped over her.
"Cute," Switch said. He sounded sincere. Mush told himself to relax a little. Maybe everyone was judging Switch a little hard.
"So-" Mush attemped to start a conversation but Switch cut him off as he started walking away.
"I can't chat, stuff to write," he said as he turned and walked away.
"Alright," Mush said.
Switch looked back over his shoulder and smirked, "Don't knock her up big boy," he said. He disspeared down the stairs. All of the reasons Mush didn't like Switch came flooding back.
"Asshole," he said quietly. He lay his head back down and slowly drifted off to sleep.
---
"FIRE! FIRE!"
The newsies were jolted out of their sleep by peircing screams and shouts. Once awake it didn't take them long to realize that the room was filling up with smoke.
Jack Kelly bolted out of bed and towards the source of the flame. He skidded to a stop and assesed that the flames were coming from the the living room downstairs.That made sense. It was the only room in the lodging house that had a fireplace.
"Okay everybody!" He shouted, taking control, "Everybody OUT! Hurry!" He ushered people down the stairs, warning them to stay back away form the door to the living room. Jack desperatly counted the newsies as they went by.
Mush and Star. Two.
Race, Blink, Boots, Switch, Skittery, Spot, Jamie. Eight.
Once the lot of them were down the stairs, around the corner and (god willing) safe, Jack hurled himself down the stairs, keeping low to avoid the smoke. He inched past the living room. The flames were starting to lick around the door frame. He was just about around the corner when he heard a farmiliar voice.
"Help-!" He heard, then coughing. Gaging.
"Mouse! MOUSE!" Jack called as he inched back along the wall, "Where are you!"
He only heard more coughing. 'Oh god' Jack thought. It was coming from the small broom cupbored-type room off of the living room. Mouse was trapped on the other side of the flames. She must've fallen asleep in their while reading.
Just then, Star came running back around the corner, looking around frantically. She was followed closely was Mush.
"Jack, what are you doing!" she said as she grabbed his wrist, trying to pull him towards the exit.
"No!" Jack shouted, "Mouse is in there!" He pointed into the living room.
"Shit!" Star said, mouth gaping, "Shit!"
"I'm going to get her," Jack backed against the wall and did a flying leap over the flames and into the burning room.
"I'm coming with you!" Star shouted.
"No you're not," Mush said pulling her back, "get out of the smoke!" Mush then hurled himself over the angry flames as Jack had and dissapeared into the smoke.
Star stood helplessly. Nearly a minute went by and she couldn't see any sign of the two boys. Without really thinking she threw herself in to room as well. She cried out as a flame wrapped itself around her ankel. She clutched the burn for a moment but then kept moving. It was so smokey. She couldn't see, couldn't breathe. Oh god, where was Mush.
Switch watched as the thin girl disapeared through the doorway. Watched her foot pass through a particularly violent patch of burning wood. His stomach churned. As the fourth person to enter the burning room, he sweeped the air with his arms, feeling for anything that resembled a human being. His outstretched arms collided with a solid figure. Mush. Blinking perfusivly he registered the tall lean figure of Jack, holding a petite limp figure in his arms. Mush was in front of him, covering his mouth with his sleeve.
"What are-" Mush coughed, "- you doing in here!"
"Star, she jumped in after you!" Switch managed to say without inhaleing too much smoke.
"What!" As very rarely seen, there was actual fear in Mush's eyes.
"We have to get Mouse out of here!" Jack said trying to open his mouth as little as possible while he spoke.
"Get out, I'll find Star!" Switch said, shutting his eyes as a draft of cold wind blew hot air into his face through the burnt holes in the wall.
"No-!" Mush started to say but a beam from the roof collapsed in front of him, cutting him off from Switch... cutting Switch off from the exit.
Switch looked around wildly. Sheilding his eyes and barely breathing. He caught a glimpse of somthing moving. Somthing other then flames or falling wood. He reached out and his hand closed around an ankel. A slimy, burnt ankel. He picked up the semi-concious figure and turned around.
'Now way out' he kept thinking, 'no way out'. Not even knowing if it would work, Switch closed his eyes and hurtled himself and Star's limp body towards an especially damaged part of the wall.
He screamed as the wood broke and the two of them fell into a heap in the cold, dry air.
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End of Chapter 3 :..
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