I do not own Newsies, or any of the Newsies characters. To the best of my knowledge they are owned by Disney.

I am making no money from this story. I seriously doubt the sanity of anyone who would pay money to read anything I have written.

Racetrack cons Dutchy and Pie into an overnight hiking trip on a deserted island.

Modern, Humor, Fluff, Mild Slash. Rated for Language.

CHAPTER 2 -Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer

When the dust cleared, Dutchy was sprawled on his back and covered with rocks and debris.

After a moment, he pulled himself up and began looking around for his glasses. They were lying just a few feet away and were virtually undamaged. He blew the dirt from the lenses and placed them back in their proper place.

Dutchy's chest tightened when he saw Pie lying motionless half way up the embankment. He quickly scaled the rocks to get to his friend.He was careful not to move Pie until he could determine if there were any injuries. He gently squeezed Pie's arm and called his name.

Though he was dazed, Pie opened his eyes and groaned.

"Are you hurt?" Dutchy asked.

"I'm not sure." Pie answered as he tried to get up. "I can't move my leg," he groaned.

Pie's foot and ankle were pinned between two large rocks. Dutchy tried to move them but they wouldn't budge.

"Get the phone," Pie winced.

"Fuck the phone! I've got to get you out of here."

"You can't move those rocks by yourself, so get the fucking phone and call for help!"

Dutchy looked down the embankment and saw one cooler laying on its side in the water below. The other had landed in the lake and was floating offshore. He carefully climbed down and found that the cooler had opened and was sloshing with water. The phone was no longer inside. He reached around in the muddy water and pulled out the remains of Racetrack's phone. It was smashed and waterlogged.

"The phone is ruined," Dutchy said as he climbed back up. "There's no way we can call for help on this thing. Looks like we're on our own till tomorrow."

"Shit! I can't stay like this until tomorrow," Pie winced.

"You won't have to," Dutchy assured him. "I'll have you out of here in a few minutes."

"But you're not strong enough to move these rocks by yourself."

"I don't have to be," Dutchy grinned. "I'll be right back."

He went away for just a couple of minutes and returned with a long heavy branch he retrieved from the woods.

"All we need is a little leverage," Dutchy grinned as he wedged the branch between the two rocks. Then he leaned against the branch using all of his weight. The rocks separated and Pie pulled out his foot and groaned from the pain.

"I don't think that it's broken," Dutchy said as he examined the ankle. "But I don't want to take off that boot until we get back to camp. Your shin and that left arm have a few good scrapes, but I can clean them up later."

Dutchy half carried and half-dragged Pie down the embankment to the shoreline.

"Now what the hell are you doing?" Pie asked as he watched Dutchy remove his clothes.

"I'm going for a swim," Dutchy grinned as he dove into the water. The water was so cold that it took his breath away. He swam out to the cooler and pulled it back to shore.

Pie watched as Dutchy climbed out of the water. His skin was pink from the cold and his lips were slightly blue. Not a bad build for a thin guy, Pie thought. He couldn't help noticing how great Dutchy looked with his wet boxers clinging to his body. Nice ass he thought to himself, being grateful for the distraction from his pain.

Dutchy ripped strips from his shirt and wrapped them around Pie's ankle.

"Shouldn't you take off the boot to do that?" Pie asked.

"If I take it off here that ankle is going to blow up like a balloon. I just want to stabilize it until we get back to the campsite."

After Pie's ankle was secure, Dutchy ripped the sleeve off of his shirt and tied a knot in one end. He took some ice out of the recently rescued cooler and stuffed it onto the sleeve, then tied it around Pie's ankle.

"So do you feel up to a piggy back ride?" Dutchy asked as he pulled his clothes back on.

"A piggy back ride?"

"Look, we both know that I'm not strong enough to carry you over my shoulder fireman style, so this is the only way I can think of to get you back to camp."

Pie climbed on Dutchy's back and they began their long journey.

Pie didn't know what hurt more his ankle or his pride because Dutchy had to carry him the entire way.

Though he did have to stop several times to catch his breath, Dutchy soon brought Pie back to camp and set him down next to the fire.

Dutchy used their bottled water to wash the dirt and gravel out of Pie's scraped skin, then tore a few more pieces off his shirt to cover the wounds.

"This should keep you warm while I'm gone," Dutchy said as he piled more wood on the fire.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go back and get that cooler," Dutchy called out as he ducked behind a tree. "We're going to need that ice for your ankle and for fresh drinking water."

Dutchy emerged from behind the tree carrying his boxer shorts. He picked up the stick that he was going to use as a fishing pole and stuck it into the ground near the fire. "Guess I'll be going commando until these dry," Dutchy laughed as he hung his shorts on the stick. "You might as well have some of this snakebite repellent. It might take the edge off the pain. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Dutchy gave a reassuring smile, then disappeared back along the shore.

Pie sat sipping the whiskey and staring into the fire. The more he sipped the more questions filled his head.

What the hell was Race thinking when he planned this fiasco? The entire story was obviously a lie. But why would Race lie to me? He's my best friend for shit's sake. Why the hell did Dutchy get so pissed off? What did Race tell him about why we were here? It obviously wasn't the same story he told me. And when the hell did Dutchy become so self-reliant and take charge? Did Dutchy always look that good in boxers? If it's true about cold water making things shrink, then what did Dutchy look like on a hot day? He sure looked good in those wet boxers. How come I never noticed his ass before? And why the hell am I even thinking about Dutchy's ass now!

Suddenly Pie realized the swelling in his ankle was taking second place to the swelling in his pants.

"Oh Crap!" he grumbled as he shifted his jeans to relieve his discomfort. "This ain't happening. I must be going into shock or having a reaction to this snake bite repellent. Just think of something else and you'll be fine," he told himself.

Pie took out his CD player only to find that the batteries were dead. "Okay," he said "Think of something else to keep you busy."

Pie ran down the list of the few chemical elements he could remember from his high school chemistry class, then went on to list the names and jersey numbers of the guys on his old soccer team. The distraction was starting to work when his mind began to wander . . . Soccer . . . That's the one sport that Dutchy doesn't totally suck at. He isn't really good at it but I've seen worse. Then Pie looked up and saw Dutchy's boxers hanging from the stick and waving in the breeze. "And he did look good in those gym shorts. . . . Oh Crap! Not again."

Suddenly Pie began to sing, "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall. Ninety-nine bottles of beer . . ." It worked. Somewhere around eighty-four bottles, Pie stopped thinking about Dutchy and concentrated on the song. He sang and sipped the whiskey and was really starting to enjoy himself until he got to around twenty-seven bottles. That's when his bladder became so full he thought that he would explode.

Pie looked around and saw a group of trees that were far enough away from the campfire but not too far to try and reach on his own. He knew that he couldn't walk so he tried to crawl. He didn't make more than a foot or two before the pain became too much for him to bear. Finally, Pie sat up and using one leg to push himself, he slid toward the woods on his butt. As he scooted along, he continued to sing, "Twenty-six bottles of beer on the wall. Twenty-six bottles of - -"

"Well, that's an interesting picture," Dutchy laughed. "I could hear you singing about half way back. Sounds like you're feeling better."

"Dutchy! Thank God. Give me a hand."

"Well, what the hell are you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to get to those trees over there. I need to take a leak really bad."

"Okay, buddy," Dutchy laughed. "Up you go."

Dutchy pulled him off the ground, and Pie put an arm around Dutchy's shoulder. As they hobbled toward the trees, Pie continued singing. "Twenty-six bottles of beer - -"

"How much of that snakebite repellent have you had?" Dutchy asked.

"Not enough," Pie replied. "My mind was starting to play tricks on me!"

"What about?"

"You don't want to know!" Pie replied.

When they reached their destination, Dutchy leaned Pie against a tree then turned around to give him some privacy. A few moments passed but Dutchy heard nothing. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"No, everything is not okay," Pie hissed. "I can't go with you standing there like that!"

"Well it never bothered you before," Dutchy mumbled as he walked back to the fire. "You never cared where or when you took a leak. Usually I have to jump out of the way so you don't piss on my foot!"

While he was waiting, Dutchy filled the empty water bottles with the melted ice from the cooler.

"I'm done," Pie called from his place back at the trees.

"Congratulations," Dutchy said as he went to help his friend back to the fire.

When Pie was situated back on the ground, Dutchy handed him a bottle of water. "Drink this," he said. "I don't want you getting dehydrated after drinking all that whiskey."

Pie took a sip. "This water tastes like fish," he grumbled.

"That's because of these," Dutchy said as he waved the fish at Pie. "Compliments of your friend Racetrack. I figure that we can have the fish for dinner and save the sandwiches for tomorrow. There's no telling when that fool is going to come and rescue us, and we could get pretty hungry while we wait. Now drink that water and stop complaining."

Pie sat sipping the water as he watched Dutchy take a few sticks and the fish and in no time their dinner was cooking over the campfire. Then Dutchy scooped some of the ice out of the one cooler and dumped it into the other. "Come on, Buddy," Dutchy said as he pulled Pie up to sit on the first cooler. "I want to take a look at that ankle. It's going to hurt but I'll be as gentle as I can, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Pie replied.

Dutchy carefully removed the strips of his shirt that he had tied around the ankle then untied the boot. Pie winced when the boot and sock came off. It was definitely swollen, and the skin was black and blue. "See if you can move it," Dutchy said as he gently supported the leg. Pie gritted his teeth and groaned, but he did move the ankle. "That's good," Dutchy said. "It doesn't seem to be broken." Then he took the cooler with the scoops of ice down to the lake and added enough water to cover Pie's ankle.

"I want you to put your foot all the way in so that the ankle is covered by the water and ice," Dutchy instructed. "It's going to hurt like hell for a couple of minutes, but then it will start to feel better."

Pie placed his foot into the icy cold water. "Fuck!" he shouted.

"No thanks," Dutchy laughed. "Maybe later." He immediately wished he hadn't said it. Dutchy turned away so that Pie wouldn't see him blush.

Dutchy tended the fire and turned the fish to make sure they would cook evenly. When they were done, he used the cooler's lid as a plate and brought it over to Pie. "Dinner is served," he said.

They were both surprised at how good the fish tasted, and they were so hungry that neither minded eating with their hands.

"I've got to admit it, Dutchy. That dinner wasn't half bad."

"Thanks, Pie. How about some snake bite repellent for dessert?"

"I don't mind if I do," Pie grinned. "Ya know, Dutch? Considering everything that has gone wrong today, I'm really having a good time."

"You just think that you are having a good time because of all that whiskey you've had."

"I'm serious. Thanks to you, I'm not stuck up on that ledge. You fixed my ankle, got me back here safe and sound, and made us a great dinner. Now I'm sitting next to a roaring fire, drinking Irish whiskey, and having a damn good time."

"What you really mean is that you are having a good time considering you were tricked into coming here, you fell off a ledge and almost got killed, and I managed to get us stranded."

"Wait a minute, Dutchy. None of this is your fault. And you didn't get us stranded. It was Racetrack and his crazy plan that got us stranded here. When I see him tomorrow, I'm gonna kick him in the ass with my good foot! Besides, you're kinda handy to have around. It's like being stranded on Gilligan's Island with the Professor."

"I guess geeks do come in handy now and again," Dutchy said. "Now let me take another look at that foot of yours. It's been soaking for a couple of hours now."

"You're not a geek. You're a pretty cool guy. And the Professor wasn't a geek either. Those castaways would have been dead a dozen times over if it wasn't for him. Come to think of it, he wasn't bad looking either."

"You only think that he wasn't bad looking because you are comparing him with the other guys on that island."

"Nah. He wasn't bad looking with or without them."

"This ankle looks pretty good, Pie. The bruise is darker, but the swelling has gone down quite a bit. I'll wrap it up again and tie the rest of the ice around it, and you should be okay for the night. You were pretty lucky, you know?"

"Thanks to you, Professor."

"Do me a favor and knock off that Professor crap. Okay, Pie?"

"Sure, no problem . . . So who do you think was hotter, Ginger or Mary Anne?"

"Neither," Dutchy laughed. "I think that the actor playing The Ape Man was the hottest thing ever to land on that island."

"I remember that episode. He couldn't act worth a shit, but he sure was built. You got good taste, Dutch."

Pie took another drink as he watched Dutchy wrap his ankle. "Dutch, I hate to do this to you again, but . . . "

"But what?"

"Twenty-six bottles of beer on the wall."

"Okay, Pie," Dutchy laughed. "No problem."

Dutchy pulled Pie Eater up, and helped him back to the trees so he could relieve himself.

"Sorry I have to keep asking you to help me, but with all that water and whiskey . . ."

"Don't worry about it," Dutchy grinned. "It could be worse, you know? You could have two broken arms!"

"Yeah. I guess that would be too much to ask of any friend," Pie laughed.

Dutchy helped Pie back to the campfire. After adding more wood, Dutchy finally sat down to relax.

"Can I tell you a secret, Dutchy?"

"No!" he replied firmly.

"Whadda you mean no?"

"Look, Pie. You've been drinking, and every time somebody wants to tell a secret when they've been drinking they regret it the next day. Then the two of you go around all uncomfortable and are too embarrassed to want to see each other. So the answer is no. You can't tell me a secret."

"Well, it isn't really a secret. Racetrack already knows, and the rest of the guys are gonna find out soon enough. I just wanted to tell you before I told all of them"

"In that case, I guess it's okay. Go ahead and tell me."

"Well . . . I'm gay."

"No . . . Ya think?" Dutchy said sarcastically.

"Whadda you mean by that remark!"

"Jesse, Pie. I know you're gay. The guys all know you're gay. Everybody but you knew that you were gay. I'm just amazed that it took you this long to figure it out."

"That's the same thing that Race said when I told him. How come I was the only one who didn't know? When did you figure it out?"

"I don't know, Pie. I guess I've always known. You never really dated anybody seriously. The only time you took a girl out was when you went to a dance or something. Look at our senior prom of instance. You, your date, Blink, and Mush were the strangest couple I've ever seen."

"Whadda you mean couple? How can four people be a couple?"

"That's just it. You brought her there all right, but that's where it ended. You spent most of the night talking with Blink about sports, and she spent most of the night talking with Mush about the latest fashions. When Blink asked her to dance you talked with Mush, and when Mush asked her to dance you talked to Blink. The only one who didn't ask her to dance was you. And you love to dance. Like I said, the four of you made a strange looking couple that night."

"Well, if everybody knew that I was gay, why didn't anybody tell me?"

"You're right, Pie," Dutchy said as he took a large gulp of whiskey. " That's exactly what I should have done. I could have told you after one of your football games. You know . . . when all you guys were celebrating and slapping each other on the ass. I could have gone right over and said 'Great game, Pie. Oh, and by the way, you're gay.'" Dutchy took another sip of whiskey. "Those ass slaps would have taken on a whole new meaning after that."

"I guess you're right," Pie sighed.

"Figuring out that you were gay was something that you had to do for yourself. Nobody could do that for you. But I have to say that you do seem pretty comfortable with the idea."

"I am. I dated a few guys last semester. It definitely felt more natural than any of the dates I had with the girls in high school. I'm taking it slow though. I haven't slept with anybody yet. I mean, I'm not a prude or anything. It's not like I haven't done anything, but I'm not about to go jumping into bed with every guy I meet just because it's convenient. I'd rather be with somebody I really care about . . . Damn! That sounded so wussy, didn't it? Like some line out of a girly romance novel?"

"Nah. I think it sounds nice . . . And smart too. Besides, I'm glad to know that you haven't become a man-slut. That's Spots job, and I don't think that there is room enough for two of those in our group!"

"Yeah. It's a good thing that he and Race found each other," Pie laughed. "I think that Race is the only one that could keep up with him!"

The two remained for quite while as they lay looking up at the night sky.

"Look, there's the big dipper," Pie said pointing overhead.

"No. That's the little dipper," Dutchy corrected. "The big dipper is over there."

"Oh, yeah," Pie said as he rolled onto his side. He had moved so close that the two were almost touching.

Dutchy was beginning to feel uncomfortable and started to squirm. His muscles became tense as he felt Pie's warm breath wash over his neck.

Dutchy started to inch away but Pie's hand grasped his elbow. Then the hand moved slowly up Dutchy's arm and across his shoulder until it came to rest on his chest.

"Um, Pie?. . . What are you doing?" Dutchy asked.

"Ah, I'm not sure yet," Pie answered. His voice showed little to no emotion. Then his hand began to move slowly across Dutchy's chest as it traced the subtle muscles beneath what was left of his shirt.

"Um, yeah, okay," Dutchy said uncomfortably. "Then would you like to tell me why you're touching me?"

"Ah, I'm not sure about that either," Pie replied.

Dutchy wasn't sure if he wanted to stay or move away. "Well, will you let me know when you are sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure," Pie answered matter-of-factly.

The feel of Pie's hand on his chest, and the warm breath on his neck sent a hot surge through Dutchy' body. Though the sensation was glorious, the strangeness of the situation suddenly outweighed the pleasure. He was about to move away when Pie leaned over and kissed him on the corner of the mouth.

"Pie, what the hell - -"

Dutchy's words were silenced by Pie's lips pressing against his. Dutchy remained tense as Pie slid partially on top of him. When he felt Pie's tongue enter his mouth his resistance faded and he eagerly returned the kiss.

When it was over, Pie looked at him and said, "Okay. I'm sure now." Then he rolled back onto his side.

"Sure about what!" Dutchy asked sounding more than a bit annoyed.

"Sure that I like you," Pie answered plainly. "And that I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to be sure that it was the sight of you in those wet boxers that was making me feel this way and not that snake bite repellent."

"Then you're sure?" Dutchy asked pensively.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Pie answered

"So what you're saying is that you like me, and not just as a friend?"

"Yup . . . That's what I'm saying."

"And you're sure that this isn't the alcohol talking?"

"Yeah, Im sure."

"And you like the way I looked in the wet boxers?"

"Hell yeah! But I was pretty sure that liked you before that. The boxers just kind of helped things to . . . um . . . develop a little sooner than I expected."

"So then would you like to . . . maybe kiss me again?"

"I sure would."

"Well, it sure took you long enough!" Dutchy laughed as he pulled Pie on top of him.

END - CHAPTER 2

Thanks for reading. Please review.

A/N: This story was not beta'd. I hope that any grammar mistakes were not too much of a distraction.

Thanks to all who inquired about Seems Like Only Yesterday. This story is still active, and I plan to post the next chapter soon.