A/N: Okay, this is a shorter chapter, but I had trouble writing it and making it long. Anyway, read and tell me what you think!
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Say 'I'
"I'se say we's vote!"…
"A'ight! A'ight!" Jack Kelly shouted to the kids. He was suddenly exhausted, and just wanted to get the vote over with, though, most everybody already knew which way it was going to go. Watching the kids sitting on bunks in front of him, he realized that was exactly what they were. A bunch kids, with no family except each other. And for the first time, he truly understood why they needed to go to war…
All dey got's one anuddah, he thought. All dey got's dis lodgin' house. If dey lose d'ose, den dey's got nuthin' left…
Holding up his hand for silence, he said, "A'ight. Let's keep dis simple. If you'se wanna go inta dis war, den say 'I' now!"
A small silence followed, but then Alleyway, Wicked, and the rest of the Central Park Lodging House spoke up. And then, the first "I" came from a Manhattan kid. As Mush stood, and turned to look at the rest of the crowd.
"I said 'I' for Blink. An' Marsh upstaiahs who may be dyin' foah all we's know. An' mostly foah Criss-Cross, fightin' on her own for all a us," he said.
"I heah dat!" Henna shouted, clapping, as she and the rest of Harlem through in their 'I's, and walked to the center to join those who had already said theirs.
Jittery, still covered in blood, stepped forward. "I!" she said firmly, and joined the ranks of those ready to fight. Slowly, others began to come forward, and saying "I!" join their ranks. Until finally everyone in the room was in.
"A'ight den, looks like we'se goin' ta war!" Wicked said, grinning widely at his girl. And then, slipping his arm around her waist, he pulled her in against him, and kissed her in a long, victorious kiss, reveling in being with his girl. He could feel that something had changed within her, and given her usual humor fighter attitude a fire that mirrored the one that burned within Criss-Cross, and he understood how good of friends the two were.
Jack watched the two for a moment, before placing a hand on Wicked's shoulder, and gave him a look that said clearly "Come with me now. We need to talk and plan." The other boy nodded and gave Alleyway a quick kiss good-bye, telling her he'd be back in a moment. But Jack simply said, "She's should come too."
The pair nodded, and followed Jack out of the room, and down a hall to his "office". A broom closet that he'd dragged a stolen school desk into, and had a couple of boxes for chairs. And the planning of the war began.
Gip watched as Curls lead in the rest of the Harlem boys with a grin on her face, and a young Tumbler clinging to her skirts. Curls yanked a licorice stick out of her pocket, and handed it to him, grinning as he took it hungrily.
"So'se, looks like everyone made deir decisions on da war. What'd yas decide?" she asked.
Gip realized she was the only one who ha heard Curls, but she was the type that didn't talk much, so she pretended like she hadn't heard either. But Curls just tapped her on the shoulder and asked her question again.
Sighing, Gip responded, "We's goin' ta war. Mainly foah Criss-Cross."
Curls nodded solemnly, but the grin playing in her eyes suggested that she was more than just excited. Gip gave her a small smile, but then retreated to the infirmary to check on Marsh, but Specs followed her out, and caught her by the arm in the hallway.
He kissed her softly, before asking her, "You'se okay?"
She nodded, but the tears slowly filling her eyes betrayed her. Laying her head against his chest, she said in a soft voice, "It's jus' dat da people I care about are in trouble. An' da only t'ing I can t'ink is, 'what if me bruddah Vice is next?'"
Specs stroked her wavy dark hair, and contemplated his answer for a second. "Wells, it's a chance we gotta take. An' Vice knows yas love 'im. So 'e'll be careful not ta get 'imself hoit. 'E cares about yas too much ta let anythin' hoit yas, even if it's 'im getting' hoit. But dere's somethin' else, isn't dere?"
She nodded again, and the tears from her eyes overflowed down her cheeks. "Blink's dead by da hand a Griff. Da ex-Bronx leadah. Yas know who 'e is…"
Specs nodded as a fire boiled up inside him. Griff was an evil bastard, who had been in love with Gip. But when she wouldn't consent to being with him, because she didn't love him, he'd taken her by force. Or, in other words, he'd raped her, leaving her pregnant, with a baby that had miscarriaged when she'd gotten to Manhattan.
Griff knew where Gip was, and fighting with Queens, he had a good chance at taking her back. "I'se won' let 'im get yas. I promise Gip. You'se know dat. Now let's go check on Marsh. Hope she's doin' bettah…"
He gently wiped the tears off her face and gave her a soft kiss. Then, taking her hand in his, the two walked down the hall to where Marsh lay, just waking to hear the news of the war. And Gip couldn't help but wonder, how's she gonna react?
A/N: So…How was it! Oh, and please review!
Shout Outs:
Angelfish: Glad you liked it! lol I honestly wasn't sure whether or not the chapter was good. And I thought that maybe the story would've made it bad, but apparently it didn't. Yeah, the ending was sad. And a little lame and redundant to other chapter endings I thought…But oh well…It's kind of foreshadowing something that happens later on.
Bittah: Yeah. Ya did! lol I was so glad I had your character to use there. Because I hate Trigger's guts, so I had to make something happen to him. lol And you already did bug me! lol And you didn't write enough! I demand more fic! Or I will not post mine. And this time I'm serious! lol (We know me though…teehee)
Skater: lol I've done that with other people's stories. Course, I have no life and I'm insane so…I dunno if that counts as justification for you. lol And I'm working on the next chapter as we speak! lol I thought it was sad, but I didn't think anyone else would. lol I thought I was just overly attached to the characters. Teehee…
Spot: Now go review!
PLEASE. lol Spot, you really need to work on your manners. Anyway, please review! Criss-Cross