Seize The Day
By BekahNicole
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own anything associated with the Newsies franchise and/or Broadway. Disney owns that, and I in no way shape or form am trying to infringe on that. This is merely for fun. Of course, I do own some OC's in this which if you know the franchise, can quickly pick them out. I do appreciate feedback but not hateful criticism. With that being said, I encourage that you review my work with positive and helpful suggestions. Thank you, enjoy.
(AN: Sorry last chapter was super short. I'm getting ready for my college midterms…NOT fun. And I'm also super sorry that this chapter took so long to upload. Again, I've been drowning myself in school work. #LifeOfAFullTimeCollegeStudent ;p)
CH. 6: Hazel Eyes
I slowly opened my eyes as the sunlight crept into the room. The sound of boys snoring still rang around the room. I just stayed put in my bed letting my body wake up. That was when I realized a few strange things. First off, I was aware that, when looking at the window at the far end of the room, I was looking at it from the opposite I usually do. Unless my bed decided to grow legs and walk, something was wrong. Next, I was vaguely aware of a light weight across my shoulders. It was gentle, yet firm as if it were holding me. Lastly, I swear I can feel hot breathing on the back of my neck. Wait…what the hell? I turn my head and see the sleeping form of Racetrack. My eyes open wide in realization.
It was then that all the memories flooded back to me. The pain, the cold bath, the loneliness, shivering, him warming me up. I couldn't help but smile to myself. He really was my best friend. Even if we had a rough start to this dysfunctional friendship, it was still pure. Turning my head again to look at him, I can't help but notice his peacefulness. He looks so calm. That's one thing I like about Racetrack. No matter what happens, you can count that he will be calm and handle the situation.
Come to think of it, he seemed out of character yesterday when he ran into the bunkroom and knelt by my bunk. That was the first I've ever seen him like that. I smile again thinking that I was the one to bring out the un-normal in him. But, whatever happened yesterday, I know he cares. His big adorable chocolate eyes are a dead giveaway. I think that's my favorite thing about him, his eyes. I can really tell what he's feeling when I look into them. Whoa…what? Since when did I have a thing for Racetrack's eyes? I don't remember this transition happening.
I push the thought aside as I felt the sleeping boy stir. I pretended to be asleep so I don't seem awkward for staying in his bed. Which now that I think about, why did I stay? I'm so confused. I want to say because he's my friend and I trust him. Which I do, but deep down, I think it's because I feel safe with him.
I think he's awake now, feeling him pull his arm off of my shoulders. I feel a small piece of sadness at this. Again, why? It's too early to be having these life questions. I lay there for about another 10 minutes before the other boys start to get up. I hear Jack yelling, "Awright ya bummahs! Get up so's we can get ta da distribution centah." I pretend to "awaken" and sit up in bed looking around the room as if I'm still sleep logged. I turn my head and see Racetrack smiling at me. He's unusually happy this morning. He's normally like a zombie; don't speak, don't look, just eat. I chuckle to myself at this. Next thing either of us know, there's a number of boys staring at us. My face turns red as I realize what it must look like to them.
Jack walks over to the end of the bed with an amused expression. "Well, youse two sleep well?" his smirk grew as chuckles and snickers went around the room. I am mortified. How am I going to come up with an excuse for this? I'm not going to tell them what really happened. That would show them weakness which around here, you don't want to give. I looked at Racetrack who seemed to understand.
"Nah fellas, it ain't what ya think. She got cold ovah in her bed, so's she came over ta me. Bein the gentleman dat I am, couldn't let da poor goil freeze durin da night, I let her in ta me bed." The newsies gave him skeptical looks before walking into the washroom. They all shuffled out except for Jack who was still eying us with a smirk.
"Dat da story youse gonna stick with?" he asked clearly amused. This time I piped up, "It ain't no story Cowboy. It's da truth so ya we'se stickin with it." He held his hands up in defense and walked away grinning from ear to ear. Both Racetrack and I sigh as the leader left and dropped the topic.
"Well dat was awkward." I look at Racetrack incredulously. That's what he came up with? Awkward? It was beyond awkward! I shake my head and push him off his bed. I actually didn't mean to push him all the way off but it happened. I laughed as his head popped up over the side of the bed. He had an irritated look and crossed his arms. Stifling my laughter, I give him my best puppy face and slowly get up from the bed and walk towards my own bed. However, I realize that my clothes that I had were soiled. I look around the room silently asking for help. I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw Racetrack who had apparently gotten over his little tumble. He handed me new clothes and said, "Heah, dese are all I got left so don't ruin dese. An heahs ya hat, ya left it in da washroom last night." I gratefully take the clothes.
If I had forgotten my soreness earlier, it was making itself known now. I tried my best to stretch some of it at my bed but quickly retreated the thought as it caused too much pain. Grunting, I walk into the washroom. I change into my day clothes and head over to an unoccupied sink. My heart sunk as I saw a mixture of purple, black, and yellow around my left eye and scattered across my arms and ribcage. I scrub my face and braid my hair in its usual way. I noticed all the boys staring at me snickering and smiling. I glared at them all to make sure none of them say anything. Putting away Race's sleep clothes, I head out the bunkroom and down the stairs taking it easy on my sore body. Racetrack and some of the other boys were already downstairs waiting for me. The look they all had made me feel like a hurt puppy.
Racetrack especially was looking quite sad. He probably still thinks it's his fault I got hurt. I try to act as normal as possible the rest of the day. I only got 25 papers to sell mainly because I just wasn't feeling myself. Getting beat near to death can do that to you. After I finally sold all of my papers, I walked over to where Racetrack was selling his papers and lay down on the sidewalk beside him. It felt good to get off of my feet even if it was only for a little while.
Maybe half an hour later, Racetrack finally finished selling. He sat down next to me and tapped me gently on my shoulder. I wasn't asleep so I looked up at him and smiled. His eyes, like earlier, still had that sadness in them. I could see he was still worked up about leaving me.
"Race, ya know it wasn't ya fault right? Dere was no way ya could a known dose guys was followin us. I ain't mad at ya." I can't stand seeing him like this. His face fell as I tried to give him some closure. It seems my efforts are in vain. Nothing I say will change his mind. Finally he looks me in the eyes before saying, "Ya well I should a known. Youse me pahtner. And as ya pahtner it's me job ta watch ya, make shoah youse okay. I failed ya when I left ya ta go ta da races…I promise ya Rose, I ain't ever gonna let ya walk nowhere without anuddah newsie till we get dis Shadow business sorted." I remove my gaze from him and just stare out into the street, not looking at anything in particular. It seems my brother was having a much better experience so far.
Gabe has made friends with almost every newsie. I'm happy for him. He's never had friends before. We were always going to school. Then our mother got sick and we quit school so we could take care of her. He deserves a break from the harshness of life. However, with me it's a different story apparently. Although, I feel confident that I'm not in this alone anymore. Now I have a family. Not just Gabe, but the newsies. All of the boys have become like brothers to me. Except for Racetrack. He's more of a…well…a really really really close friend. It's hard to explain. I don't know how I feel about him anymore. It seems when it comes to Racetrack it becomes an emotional rollercoaster for me. First I like him, then I hate his guts, then I can tolerate him, next we're friends, and the last thing I know I'm sleeping in his bed. I'm beyond confused with my feelings for him.
He offers his hand as he stands up. "We bettah get goin ta Tibby's if we'se gonna meet up wid da udders." I take his hand and he pulls me to my feet. I stifle a little pain and slowly, we start our walk to the diner. We walked in awkward silence, which bothered me. When was Racetrack ever NOT talking? You know something's eating him when he's quiet. I figure that he'll come to terms with it in his own time. I'll just continue to be his friend, which is all I really can do since he won't accept that I don't blame him whatsoever. We rounded a corner, not too far from where Tibby's was. I had been staring at my feet as we walked, which is a bad habit of mine. When I looked up to see how far away the diner was, I stopped. Racetrack didn't notice at first and kept walking. Eventually he noticed my sudden halt and looked back questioningly. My eyes were wide with fright. He turned to face forward to see what I was staring at.
There were two boys leaning against one of the building walls in our path to the diner. I recognized them both immediately. One of them was Shadow and the other was hazel eyes. Race looked back at me and coldly asked, "Dose da guys who jumped ya yestaday?" Unable to speak, I merely nodded. Race turned back around and started to walk up to the two boys. Hazel eyes stepped in front of Racetrack with his arms crossed and a menacing look across his face. He towered over Racetrack, who was short for his age. Nonetheless, Racetrack boldly stood up to the guy.
"You two da ones who attacked me friend ovah dere?" asked Racetrack coldly. His eyes traveled back and forth between hazel eyes and Shadow. A moment later Shadow nudged hazel eyes out of the way and looked Racetrack in the face. He smirked and laughed to himself. Racetrack was boiling at this point. "Maybe we are, maybe we aren't? What's it to ya shrimp?" sneered Shadow, clearly not seeing how mad he was making Racetrack who was now clenching his fists.
Seeing just how angry Racetrack was, I decided to intervene. "What do ya want Shadow? I delivered ya message like ya told me ta." I was standing beside Racetrack bravely meeting Shadow's gaze head on. He snickered before answering me, "I need a response Rose." I gasped at the use of my name. How does he know who I am? Shadow apparently saw this confusion and smiled evily.
"Ya dat's right I know ya name. I got me a source. Now, be a good little goil and go run an tell Kelly I need an answer before the end of this month. If not, then things are gonna get pretty hot around heah."
I gave him one of my worst glares I could. Seeing that I wasn't moving from where I was, Shadow grabbed my wrist and threw me in the direction we had been traveling earlier. That's all it took for Racetrack's anger to overflow. Without hesitating, Racetrack swung a powerful fist straight into Shadow's nose. Shadow stumbled backwards at the blow and grabbed at his nose which was spewing blood. Hazel eyes grabbed Racetrack before he could advance on Shadow and threw him into the brick wall of a nearby building. Fear rose within me for Racetrack. Hazel eyes was beating down on him. I ran in between the two to try and stop it but not before I got a hard slap across my face. The noise made everyone freeze. Hazel eyes looked at me with wide eyes as if he couldn't believe he had just slapped me. I turned my head slowly to face him, a few stray tears gliding down my cheeks. I grabbed Racetrack's hand and pulled him away before he could retaliate.
"Lemme go Rose, dat guy ain't gonna get away with hitting you!" Racetrack tried to pull away from my hold on him. I was having none of that. Because at that moment, I realized who hazel eyes was. "Racetrack jus drop it. Let's go bafoah deres moah trouble."
"Yeah Racetrack bettah listen ta ya goil. She seems to be in charge heah. And just so you know, you are a dead man. Bettah watch yer back tiny." Threatened Shadow, trying to antagonize Racetrack into another round of fighting. He gave a deathly glare at Shadow, then looked at me who had a stern 'I'm not joking around' look. Racetrack reluctantly gave in and muttered "Fine…" and let me drag him down the street to Tibby's.
We walked into the diner and were greeted by the newsies as per usual. I let go of Racetrack's hand now that he was away from the instigators. Jack seemed to notice something was wrong (as usual). He gave a long drawn out sigh before asking, "What happened dis time?" I met him with my stony gaze before answering. "Shadow dat's what happened." Racetrack trudged to an open seat by Jack and I slowly followed, finding my own chair and sitting down crossing my arms angrily.
Racetrack didn't seem to look any different from me. "Gimme da details" said Jack still waiting for the story. Seeing how I wasn't about to answer Jack, Racetrack sighed and started to tell the story.
"All we'se was doin was walkin down da street. Den Rose heah stopped and was lookin at dem two, Shadow and some udder guy. I saw how scared she was and kinda figured meself dey was da ones who jumped her yestaday. So's I intervene and next thing I know Shadow throws her to da ground! I ain't havin none of dat while I'm dere so's I punch da guy. Da guy's goon gets a hold a me bafoah I can advance on Shadow an throws me against da brick wall an starts wailin on me. Next thing I know, I heah a hard slap. Da goon had slapped Rose clear across her face! I almost had me way with da guy but Rose heah made me come back heah. She wouldn't let me defend her!" Racetrack was clearly offended by me which, to me, was dumb. I was trying to save Racetrack from a brutal beating that was about to happen.
"Ya well you didn't see Shadow about ta join in with hazel eyes now did ya?" I threw in my own piece. Racetrack looked at me stunned. Then his face turned back into anger, "I was trying to defend ya! Dey can't get away with doin dat ta ya! I ain't havin it! You obviously can't understand it, youse a goil! What do ya know bout fightin!" he practically yelled at me. This shook me out of my semi-trance I had over hazel eyes. I looked him square in the eyes with an expression of hurt, anger, and sadness all mixed together. I nodded my head before standing up not taking my eyes off of him. Finally I peeled my eyes away from his and calmly walked out the door. None of the newsies stopped me. In fact, they cleared a path for me. I hadn't noticed the small crowd gathered around us and all other conversations had ended prematurely to hear what was going on.
I couldn't believe Racetrack. He practically called me weak. That was exactly the appearance I was trying to avoid. Having my best friend say that I was exactly that hurt more than the beating I took yesterday. I walked with purpose back to the lodging house. I paid no attention to the glares I received as I bumped into a few passersby's accidently. Once I entered the lodge and stopped in my tracks. There was an old man behind the counter in the front lobby. He looked at me confused before asking, "Who might you be young lady?" he seemed very kind.
"Rose." I said quietly still not in the mood to talk. With that I walked up the stairs, ignoring his looking at me, and ran into the bunkroom as soon as I hit the top step. I plopped down on my bed and buried my face into my pillow. I let out all of my emotions at once. This only made me even angrier. Why do I have to cry all the dang time? I hate it! I almost hate myself for doing it. It makes me look weak. I hate that I'm crying. I hate that Shadow has targeted me. I hate how Racetrack called me weak. And I now have come to hate my brother. No, not sweet little Gabe; my older brother, Nick. Or as I referred to earlier as hazel eyes. Yeah, I figured out where I knew those hazel eyes from. I knew them because I look at them every day. He and I are the only ones in our family that have them. Mother, father, and Gabe all had green eyes. It was one of the things Nick and I felt proud about. It made us stand out.
It seems that my problems keep adding up.