I do not own Newsies or any of the Newsies characters. (Surprise, surprise, and surprise.) To the best of my knowledge they are owned by Disney.
I do not own the character Saiorse "Irish" Callan. She is owned by her creator Lady of Tir Na Nog, who has graciously offered the use of "Irish" as a character in this story.
I am making no money from this story. (Bet that comes as a great surprise to y'all.)
Rated M for Slash, Sexual Situations, and Language.
A/N: This chapter was beta'd by the amazingly talented and infinitely patient, pennylayne.
Chapter 17 – Call Me
Irish sat at the lunch counter, writing in her notebook. She let out an exasperated groan and tore the paper from its binding, then crumpled it into a ball and tossed it into the trash.
"Two points," A voice came from behind.
It was her brother William.
"Hi, Billy," she grinned as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "What brings you here?"
"I volunteered to pick up the squad's dinner order. I figured it would give me a chance to see my baby sister."
"I didn't recognize you with all that black hair and the mustache."
"That's one of the drawbacks of working undercover. Half the time I scare the hell out of myself when I wake up in the morning and look in the mirror."
"Well it is kind of creepy," Irish laughed as she flicked the obviously dyed mop that was hanging in her brother's face.
"It does have its benefits though. Last month it drove Mom absolutely crazy to see me with the ponytail and earring. She said that I looked more like her daughter than you did."
"Jeeze, Billy, don't you start in on me, too. First Mom got on my case about wearing clothes that make me look like a boy, then Attila the Nun tortures me for wearing skirts that show too much of what she calls my female business. Sometimes I think that the only way I can please everybody is to join the convent and start wearing the penguin outfit."
"Somehow, I don't think that the convent is ready for you!" he laughed.
When the bell atop the door rang, Irish turned and saw Specs and Skittery come through the door and head for the end table.
"Hi, guys," She called as she hopped off the stool. "How's it goin'?"
"Can't complain. How's that essay coming?" Specs laughed as he slid into the booth.
"That's very funny!" she huffed.
"What's so funny about an essay?" Skittery asked.
"Irish had a run-in with Attila today, and now she has to write a one-thousand word essay on the behavior of a proper young lady."
"Man! You should know better than to face off with that tough old bird," Skittery laughed.
"If you two don't stop laughing, I'll tell the cook to put a little something extra in your food," she bristled.
"In that case, I'll just have a cup of coffee and some of that pie you have on the counter," Specs replied.
"Yeah. Me too," Skittery added.
"Good choice," Irish grumbled.
Skittery leaned around Specs and watched Irish as she walked away.
"What are you lookin' at?" Specs asked.
"Oh, nothin," Skittery replied without looking away.
While Irish was pouring the coffee her brother whispered, "Who are those two characters?"
"They're friends of mine, why?"
"I thought I recognized them from work."
"Who? Specs and Skittery? . . . Not a chance. They're two of the most honest guys you'll ever meet. There is no way they would be mixed up in anything illegal."
"I thought I saw them in here last week."
"You probably did. They are in here all the time. Why? Are you watching the diner for something?"
"Nah. I was working on a case in town, and I noticed them going in here is all."
"Well, like I said. They're totally nice guys. And besides, you already know them. You met them at my birthday party last year. The one with the baseball cap is Skittery Callo. You know. . . Itey's brother."
"Well, what about the other guy? Doesn't he hang around with a tall blond kid?"
"Yeah. You remember Specs and Dutchy don't you? They're always together. Well, except for the past couple of weeks. They must have had a fight or something."
"The two of them are . . . Well, together, right?"
"I'm surprised at you, Billy. I didn't think that you were the type to let something like that bother you. Being gay doesn't make them criminals."
"Come on, kid. You know me better than that. I'm just asking is all."
"Well, why all the questions?"
"It's the nature of the business, kiddo. Being a cop makes me naturally nosy. Besides, I just want to make sure that they're worthy of being friends with my baby sister."
The cook called Irish into the kitchen, and she returned with Billy's lunch order.
"Well I've gotta get goin', kiddo. The captain doesn't like cold fries. Do me a favor and don't mention to your friends that I am your brother, okay? They may be nice kids, but I'm still undercover. You never know who they might mention it to."
"Jeeze, Billy. I wasn't born yesterday. I know the drill."
"Okay, kiddo. I'll see you for dinner on Sunday."
Billy pulled his collar up around his chin, and walked out the door as Irish brought the pie and coffee to her friends. "So, what are you guys up to?" she asked.
"We were lookin' for Dutchy and my brother Email," Skittery said with an unusually wide smile.
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"Nah. They both ditched school today, and we wanted to find out why."
"They were here about an hour ago. They left with a smarmy looking guy in a leather jacket. He left me a five dollar tip for three cups of coffee."
Irish watched as Specs's face turned color, and his hands clenched into white knuckled fists.
"Okay, guys. What's going on?"
"Nothing's goin' on. We just want to find them." Skittery said.
"So then the rumors are true, aren't they?"
"What rumors?" Specs snapped.
"Come on, Specs. It's all over school that Dutchy and Email are using. I didn't think it was true, but Dutchy has gotten awfully thin and jumpy lately. They're my friends, too, you know. I'm just concerned".
"Yeah it's true," Specs replied softening his tone just a bit. "Do me a favor and give us a call if you see either of them again, okay, Irish? Especially if they're with that smarmy piece of shit they were with today."
"Sure, Specs."
"Yeah," Skittery said as he wrote his telephone number on a napkin and slid it across the table to Irish. "Here's my number. Call anytime."
"Jeeze, Skittery. I know your telephone number. I've been friends with Itey since ninth grade. I must have called your house a thousand times by now."
Irish slid the napkin back toward Skittery, but he put his hand over hers and slid the napkin back. "Keep it," he said without removing his hand.
The room felt suddenly warm as a blush covered Irish's face. "Okay - - Sure," she said as she eased her hand out from under Skittery's.
"Are you coming to my brother's party?" Skittery asked.
"Of course I am. I wouldn't miss Itey's eighteenth birthday."
"Good," Specs grinned, looking her directly in the eyes. "I'll see you then."
Irish began to feel uncomfortable under Skittery's intense gaze. It was definitely not a bad feeling of uncomfortable. She'd just forgotten how good-looking he was. She'd had a mild crush on him back when she was a sophomore, but it didn't last long. He had always treated her as one of his kid brother's friends. More like one of the guys than a girl.
"Sure, I- - I guess," she stammered as she slipped Skittery's number into her apron pocket.
The cook rang the pick up bell and called out, "Come on, Irish. You've got orders piling up. Get a move on!"
Skittery took some money from his shirt pocked and placed in into Irish's hand. "Keep the change," he said, looking her in the eyes once again.
"I've gotta go fellas," she mumbled, taking a step back. "But I'll be sure to call if I see Dutchy or Email. Bye!"
Skittery stopped before they went out the door. Again, he leaned around Specs to watch Irish walk away.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Specs grumbled.
"What the hell do you think I'm lookin' at?" Skittery grinned while wiggling his eyebrows. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You don't have the same appreciation for such things. You go for the taller and less curvy type?"
"You're gross," Specs huffed as he pushed Skittery through the door. "And besides, Irish is dating Snoddy."
"That's not what Itey told me. He said that they went out a few times but it was nothing serious. Irish told Itey that she and Snoddy are just friends."
"Oh yeah? Well, I think that someone forgot to tell Snoddy."
End Chapter 17
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