SILLY LITTLE LIFE

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

( prompt: "NO!" )

"So, Pip, I was thinking..." I began, shoving my hands into my trouser pockets as we walked along the street together.

It was the middle of the day, in that awkward time between lunch and dinner, and all our papes were sold, but we had nothing to do, which was odd, since newsies always found something to do.

"Angel, why do ya insist on doin' that? You'll run into the wall again," Pip said casually, tossing a pair of dice in the air as she walked.

I slanted her a glare. "I ran into the wall once."

"You were talking about Spot, though," she pointed out, and then grinned.

"That means nothing!" I sputtered, embarrassed since now I was caught. My brain seemed to melt out of my ears when talking about, around, or to that boy.

Pip grinned. "At least I don't get that way around Racetrack."

I stopped on the street corner and folded my arms, eyebrows raised. "Oh, really? Then what the hell was last night?"

Pip shrugged and crossed the street without breaking stride. I rolled my eyes and followed in order to keep up with her. "What about last night?"

"You had a great hand in poker but you let Race win with a pair of threes!" I exclaimed and then glared at her when her face turned sheepish.

"I just didn't want him to lose. D'you know how much shit I'd hear about if he lost?" Pip gave me a look. "I'll answer that for ya: I'd hear a lot."

"Okay, so I run into walls because of Spot, and you let Race win when you could blow him out of the water," I summarized. "We both do things for the good of our boyfriends' egos."

Pip nodded, and then grinned. "At least we aren't like Charlie who drools over Mush like a hungry dog in the summertime."

I laughed at that and then lifted my hat a little, wondering if my eyes were betraying me. Firefly was shuffling along next to a rather good-looking boy, who I knew as Harlem's leader. He fought hard to keep himself known throughout New York, since nobody cared about the leader of some off-shoot neighborhood in Manhattan. But he defended his title and place of residence well, having enough nerve to stand in the face of Spot a few times, I remembered.

"Woah.. what's 'Fly doin' with Harlem?" Pip murmured, apparently having seen the same thing.

I shrugged absently and we both stopped on the sidewalk to watch. They two of them were so engrossed in each other that they didn't notice two newsgirls gawking like chickens at them.

"D'you think he's takin' a shine to her?" I asked.

"Probably. He keeps showing up at the Lodgin' House, lookin' for her. Kelly's gettin' fed up with it, since the guy is always there lookin' for her," Pip said. "Besides, look at the way he looks at her."

It was true. The guy looked at Firefly like she had just told him she'd beat up the Delancey brothers with both hands tied behind her back.

"Let's bother her," Pip decided.

"NO!" I squeaked just as Pip said, "Hey, 'Fly!"

Firefly was so startled that she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, righted herself, glanced at the guy to see if he'd noticed, and then glared at Pip all in about four seconds flat. However, Harlem didn't seem to notice anything, just stared ahead with this brooding expression. Firefly gave us a not-so-nice finger gesture and I tugged on Pip's elbow.

"We'll tease her about it tonight," I promised, and Pip nodded her consent.

Funny thing was, I never did remember what I'd been thinking about at the beginning of this conversation.

This retard piece of crap is the fruit of my procrastination for finals next week. I hope you've enjoyed. :) Oh, the things we do because of the guys we adore. Am I right? xD. On an completely unrelated note, I've decided that all I want for Christmas is an attractive boy with sweet words. xD

Spot!muse: -smirk- But you'se all ready got me, sweetface.

Arrogance, Conlon. Watch the arrogance. And who told you that you could come out of my closet? Get back in there!

xD

Review me?

CTB!

xx Wicked

P.S- Pssst! Hey Firefly, can you guess who that random boy is? Just some subtle love for you, since you rock. :) Firefly's probably the ONLY person who will understand the random boy that shows up in this chapter, but that's all that matters. xD