DISCLAIMER: Newsies is owned by Disney. Not us. *sigh* All OCs are ours, though.

Chapter Four: Drama

Tuesday was Mush's favorite day of the week. Both him and Blink had the morning shift at Tibby's, and could be all by themselves, since it was Tibby's slowest morning. Well, except that Sarah was in the kitchen, but she usually left them alone.

Mush loved spending these mornings with his boyfriend. When no one was there, they would curl up in the corner and just talk. He would rest his head on Blink's chest, and Blink would kiss the top of his head, his arms around his waist. They'd talk, or sometimes stay quiet, relishing in the feeling of being with each other. He thought today would be one of those days, and it started out that way.

Then a boy threw open the front doors and looked around. His eyes found Blink and Mush in the corner and his face fell. "Ryan?" he called out timidly.

Mush didn't know who the boy was, so he smiled at him, then looked up at Blink for an introduction. Blink seemed in shock. "Blink? Who is that?" Mush asked gently.

"That's, um, Jake." He stood up and walked over to his ex boyfriend. The brown haired boy pulled Blink into an awkward one-sided hug. He pushed Jake away. "You know, my ex," he added coldly.

Of course Mush knew. His friendly smile faltered slightly. He stood up, and approached Jake. "Hi. I'm Michael. Bli- Ryan's boyfriend. It's nice to meet you," he said brightly, trying to make the best out of this situation.

Jake frowned. "Nice to meet you, too?"

Blink around Mush's waist and held on tightly. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming back."

Jake shifted uncomfortably. "My transfer didn't go through. So I'm back to stay. I just wanted to... say hi."

"Well, hi back. I don't want to keep you, so bye," Blink replied in monotone.

"Blink!" Mush whispered, "don't be mean!" Even though he didn't like Jake, he wasn't going to let Blink be mean to him. He seemed like a nice person. "Jake, you're more than welcome to stay for breakfast. Take a seat! What can we get you?"

Jake chuckled. "Ryan, he's a sweetheart."

Blink smiled and pulled Mush closer. "I know," he said as he kissed his temple.

Jake looked away. He continued, "But I've, uh, got to go set up my apartment. Bye Ryan. Michael." He practically ran out.

"Oh, Blink. He's nice! What happened between you two?"

Blink sighed. "He had... different priorities. We broke up." He shrugged.

Mush nodded sympathetically. "That's too bad."

Blink squeezed his hand. "Not really."

"Why?"

Blink laughed. Mush loved his laugh. "Because then you and I met."

"Oh!" Mush grinned and kissed Blink. "Never mind. He's a bad person. He didn't deserve you!"

The door opened again as their first customers of the day stepped in. "I'll take this one," Blink said with one last kiss. "Hi, and welcome to Tibby's!"

It was almost five when Itey dragged himself through the door of his and Bumlets' apartment. Bumlets was stretched out on the couch looking utterly relaxed when he entered. "How was work?" he asked glancing away from the TV for a moment. Itey glanced at the television. A pair of dancers were performing a series of complicated dance steps. Bumlets kept glancing over at it, then scribbling a few things down in his notebook.

"Not bad," Itey muttered, collapsing on the couch, on top of Bumlets' legs. Bumlets shifted his legs out from under Itey, and adjusted his position on the couch. "What are you doing?"

Bumlets grimaced a little, "Mrs. Stad wants me to have finished choreographing some of the dances for the fall musical by Thursday. I've barely even started."

Itey held back a yawn, "That's too bad," he said sympathetically, "I guess I'll leave you to it." Itey stood up, and began to move from their entrance hall/living room/kitchen to their shared bedroom.

"Hey Itey," Bumlets called after him, "You okay?"

Itey hesitated. He could try and lie about it, but after being best friends for so long, Bumlets would have seen right through it. "There was a lot of... drama at work today," Itey admitted.

"Drama?" Bumlets perked up a little. He switched off the TV, tossed his notebook and pen to the side, and motioned Itey back over, "Do tell!"

"Shouldn't you finish your choreographing first?" Itey asked uncertainly.

"No," Bumlets said, "Besides, it's been a while since we've gossiped!"

Itey groaned a little, "Sometimes you are so gay," he sighed. But he was smiling as he said it.

"So drama?" Bumlets asked.

"Apparently Jake stopped by when Mush and Blink were working this morning..."

"Jake?" Bumlets spat out.

"Yeah," Itey grimaced.

"So that means Mush finally knows..."

"No."

"Shit. Blink really should..."

"I know," Itey agreed, "I told him that he was being stupid. You should too."

"I will," Bumlets nodded, "I'll set Race on him too. They live together, so Blink can't exactly brush him off..."

"But Race will do it? I mean, he and Blink are pretty close... He might not want to..."

"He'll do it," Bumlets confirmed, with a slightly wicked grin.

Itey smiled in spite himself, "So things are still going well between you two?"

"Yes," Bumlets sighed dreamily, "I am so lucky... Racetrack seriously is the most fantastic kisser..."

Itey looked vaguely uncomfortable, "Um... Good to know..."

"Oh, I see," Bumlets said, "You don't want to talk about my love life." Itey gave him a slightly guilty look, which Bumlets brushed off, "So let's talk about yours instead."

Itey paled, "Let's not."

"Yes," Bumlets insisted, "Something's still bothering you. I can tell, and it's not just about Jake and Blink and Mush. So spill."

Itey fidgeted, "Abby was... weird today..."

"Lucky?" Bumlets looked amused, "She's always a little weird."

"Yeah, but..." Itey frowned, "She has a date Friday," he finally said flatly.

"Oh," Bumlets now looked sympathetic, "Spot?"

"You know," Itey drooped a little, "I almost wish."

"Who else could it..." Bumlets started, then stopped abruptly, "Shit, please tell me it's not..."

Itey rested his head in his hands, "It's Oscar Delancey."

"I knew it," Bumlets said grimly. He didn't look happy about it.

Itey looked over at him, "How'd you know?"

"Yesterday," Bumlets said, "Songbird was pretty upset... I guess she and Lucky ran into the Delancey brothers and Lucky and Oscar sort of... hit it off... But Racetrack and I told her it was nothing to worry about... they'd never even see each other again..."

"Oh," Itey blinked. "Songbird..." he muttered absent-mindedly.

The thought seemed to occur to both boys at the same time. "Ah, shit," Bumlets paled, "Does she know yet?"

"Songbird?" Itey asked, "No. She hadn't been in all day... I think she and Blink, and maybe Mush, were going to have dinner there... And I know Abby was planning on staying and doing her homework all night..."

"Sounds like an explosion waiting to happen," Bumlets said.

Itey nodded, "I have a feeling we're going to be needed there," he sighed.

"So to Tibby's?" Bumlets asked.

Itey nodded his confirmation, "To Tibby's."

That night, the dinner rush was larger than usual, considering it was a Tuesday night. Watching David, Boots, Pie Eater, Snoddy and Snipeshooter scramble around, trying to serve their tables the fastest was extremely entertaining for Skittery. Granted, the bar was just as busy, but it was so much easier.

Blink and Mush walked in just then, hand in hand as usual, and Skittery gave them a quick wave, which they returned. They stepped aside, and Faye was standing there, talking to David.

He really missed her. They really had something, or so he thought.

She turned towards him, and greeted him with a nod. He nodded back, hoping he could hide the happiness he felt when she acknowledged him.

Skittery watched her as David lead the three of them to the only empty table, the one in the corner next to Lucky's, who was doing her homework. Faye immediately sat down at Lucky's table. He began to ignore the customers at the bar when he saw Lucky blushing as she read what was presumably a text message and Faye trying to see who it was from. Bumlets and Itey walked in, neither of them looking too pleased with the situation. Skittery guessed that they knew who the sender was.

"Oscar?" Faye asked. She wasn't yelling, but her voice carried through the restaurant. Years of singing and learning how to project did that for a girl. "When did Oscar get your number?"

At that moment, all of the waiters turned toward the girls as the customers lowered their voices. Skittery frowned. Did Faye not know about Oscar? This could be bad. Itey and Bumlets exchanged concerned looks. They were evidently thinking the same thing.

Lucky was glowing, "He asked around... Apparently he knows someone who's friends with the cousin of the mother of the sister, of the nephew, of the ex-boyfriend, of the sister, of..." Lucky trailed off looking confused.

"So you didn't give it to him?" Lucky didn't respond right away, and Faye smiled. "Oh, I see. You think his stalker-like behavior is, what, cute? Endearing?" She laughed cruelly.

"I think it's kind of sweet he tried so hard to get my number," Lucky said softly.

"Are you really this naive? Or are you so starved for attention that you're willing to stoop so low to get it?" Faye was starting to raise her voice. Poor Lucky. Skittery knew from experience that she would never win this argument once Faye got mad.

Lucky's eyes flashed, "Just because you're a cynical bitch who doesn't believe in love doesn't mean we all have to be," she spat out. As soon as she said it, she clapped her hands over her mouth, as if she hadn't meant to say it aloud.

The entire restaurant grew silent. Faye looked like she had been slapped. She took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't believe in love," she said, softly, "because it can go wrong so quickly. People can get hurt too easily. And if something does happen, no matter what you do, you can never go back to the way things were before. I prefer to be on my own."

Next to him, Skittery heard someone, presumably Jack, mutter, "Or fucking guys without commitment." Skittery's first instinct was to argue, but he knew that Jack did have a point.

Then, Faye's expression changed from sadness to disbelief. "Wait, you said love." She scoffed. "Are you in love now? With Oscar?"

Lucky blushed, "So maybe it's not love yet," she admitted, "But after our date on Friday it very well could turn out to be!"

"You have a date on Friday?" Faye was yelling now.

"Faye, calm down," Blink said quietly.

She turned around and glared at him. "How can I be calm when she's dating Oscar Delancey? Don't you remember what he did to you? And what his bro-" she cut herself off.

Blink grabbed her shoulders. "It's okay, Faye. Just let Lucky-"

"Fine!" Faye snapped. "Go ahead, Abby! Do whatever you want! But if you get hurt, don't come crying to me, okay? Because I'll do nothing about it, except for laugh and say 'I told you so.'"

Skittery knew she had gone too far. "Faye, that's enough."

"Shut up, Henry."

Lucky bit her lip, and stood up, "I've got a test in my lit class tomorrow, so I'm going to head back and go to bed," she said softly, "I'll see you guys tomorrow..."

"Wait, Lucky," Dave started, but she was already out of the door. He turned helplessly to the rest of the wait staff, "Our test isn't until Thursday..."

"Oh, fuck." Faye hung her head. She wasn't known for thinking before she spoke. Faye sat down at the table and bit her lip. "So fucking stupid..."

Skittery stepped out from behind the bar. "Okay, everyone, the show's over. Go back to stuffing your faces." He walked up to Blink and Mush. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked. They shrugged.

"Lucky?" Mush asked, "I hope so."

"I think he meant Songbird. She'll be fine," Blink said, "She just needs a damn reality check."

Just as Skittery was going to talk to Faye, Bumlets had sat down next to her and whispered something in her ear. "Guys, we'll be outside," he said as he dragged Faye out the door. Damn it, Bumlets. That was supposed to be me!

"Hey, Skitts," Pie Eater put a hand on his shoulder. "Stop sulking and get back to work."

For once, he did what he was told without complaining. He was too busy watching Bumlets and Faye talk through the window.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

C: Well I had more fun than I probably should have torturing all of them. =D

S: Haha, yeah. I have to admit, it was pretty fun.

C: At least Blink and Mush got a bit of fluff in the beginning there.

S: Blush equals cuteness, fluffiness and rainbows! I really love them...

C: Who doesn't?

S: Touché. Okay, we would like to thank our two wonderful reviewers! Thank you so much for your feedback!

C: And hopefully some of you other readers who aren't reviewing will this time! Even if it's just a "You guys suck" (Which I kind of hope we don't, but if that's what you think so be it!)

S: :D Any feedback is appreciated! We hope you enjoyed this chapter!

C: We certainly enjoyed writing it!