Chapter Ten
It'd been a month since that damn meeting and while I still didn't necessarily get along with Becket, I tolerated him. Metal and I became better friends; I found out that he was a nice kid who lost his family at an early age and was probably the only person so close to Spot. Spot, I wanted to say I could read him a little better, but he was still confusing as hell. I could see one thing, like in his eyes, but he would act or say something completely different. We'd grown used to each other, I don't know if we necessarily liked each other, but whatever. Knuckles had finally found out that I, Sydney, was in fact Stretch, leader of Queens and attempted to 'take on' some of my Newsies, but they were tough enough to withstand it and get away without being too badly hurt. I hadn't encountered him yet but I knew sometime soon, I would.
"Syd," Piper whispered, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Huh?"
"Are we out of place?" I turned to face her and saw her biting her lip, making me laugh.
"Nah! We both know Manhattan and I haven't done anything offending, we just happen to be the only girls from Queens here. Don't worry bout it, Race is coming over."
"Having fun?" Race asked from behind her and she whipped around, making me lose interest. I turned to face the stage and saw Medda, I think her name was, singing. Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder and I turned to a mischievous Piper and a suspicious Racetrack.
"What?" I asked slowly. They looked at each other before Piper leaned in.
"Tony called in a favour."
"What kind of favour?" I asked alarmed but she didn't answer, instead, I heard my name from behind me.
"Stretch, the leader of Queens I hear has a mean voice, why don't we call her up here," the red head called out to the crowd.
"Oh I'll kill you!" but I didn't have time, instead, I was being shoved onto the stage.
"Give her a hand!" I glared down at Piper, who only smiled but I got an idea.
"Aiight, then I guess this is for my best friend, Piper, who loves this song:
She walks to school with the lunch she packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back
Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides the bruises with linen and lace
The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask
Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel."
The applause was deafening and I smiled when I saw Piper's teary eyes.
"Beautiful," she mouthed, "Now happy!!"
"Fine," I sighed, racking my brain before finally deciding on something, "And this one's for those people like me, who just like to be stubborn:
Every time I turn around
I run into your pride
Sometimes I'm not so sure if I wanna
Know that guy, know that guy '
Cause you got a rock hard head
Stubborn as a mule
Oh, yeah, and by the way, I still love you
Go on and be that way
Slam that door
Make a scene
Yell some more
Come on let's have it out
Have your say '
Cause with a love this strong
Baby it's okay
For you to be that way
Sometimes what you don't say
Can make the deepest cut
And I get my feelings hurt
And I just go nuts, well a little nuts
So try to ignore that girl
She's just blowin' off steam
Oh and I don't know about her
But I hope you say to me
I caught Spot's eyes but his expression was unreadable.
Go on and be that way
Slam that door
Make a scene
Yell some more
Come on let's have it out
Have your say '
Cause with a love this strong
Baby it's okay
For you to be that way
Baby let's get emotional
What do you say we let it all go
Let it go
Go on and be that way
Slam that door
Make a scene
Yell some more
Come on let's have it out
Have your say '
Cause with a love this strong
Baby it's okay
For you to be that way
Be that way, oh yeah.
Thank you!" I yelled before almost running off stage.
"That was great!" Medda gushed, "Please feel free to come by any time." I smiled nodding, not able to breath. I needed air, so I walked past her quickly and out the stage door, leaning against the wall. Suddenly, I felt a hesitant hand on my back, sending a slight chill through my body, and I turned my head to see Spot standing there.
"Hi," I chocked, not knowing what was wrong, god I needed to calm down.
"You okay?"
"I don't know, just a little, out of, air," I muttered, turning so I was facing him completely but leaning against the wall. I stared into the space in front of me, steadying my breath before looking at him. He looked like he wanted to say something.
"You," he started, "You look made for the stage."
"Thanks," I laughed slightly, "It's nerve wracking."
"Really?" he tilted his head and I nodded, "You don't look nervous."
"Years of practice," I smiled, dazing out a bit, adding after a while, "It's my favourite song."
"What?"
"Be That Way, it's my favourite." He smiled slightly and I felt my heart flutter slightly.
"You're different, Sydney," he murmured, brushing a stray hair out of my face, "It's-," but he either couldn't or didn't want to finish.
"It's what," I urged, resting a gently hand on his lower arm and his eyes snapped to mine. He must have felt the jolt of electricity, he could not have missed it.
"It's," he started; I felt his hand on my cheek, thumb stroking my cheek and barely registered him moving closer until his lips were on mine, creating the most incredible feeling I never wanted to lose, "I like it."
