so like?? idk what this is?? iām only posting it because @suddenly-im-respecsable asked for it but it has like zero plot and its messy and rushed but?? i just finished my first week of college and iāve been writing this betweenĀ classes so blame the messiness on that lmao. enjoy.
Racetrack Higgins, unlike many others, hasnāt changed his selling spot in six months. Why would he, when the only angel in Manhattan walks past his corner everyday. It took him a while, but eventually he was able to strike up a conversation consisting more than āhereās your pape.ā.
āExtra, extra! Beautiful girl causes all hearts to stop, you heard it right 'ere folks!ā
The obviously fake headline shouted from behind the girl causes a smile to spread across her face. She spins around, standing face to face with the boy sheās come to know and love.
āNo one is gonna buy a paper with that as the headline,ā she says, grabbing the folded paper out of the mischievous boys hand.
āI disagree, Iās already sold three just by sayinā your name,ā he smirks, folding his arms across his chest in satisfaction.
āDonāt lie to me, Higgins,ā she replies, placing a dime in his paper bag, āit stings, right in the heart.ā
āI aināt never lied to youās, Y/N,ā Race says, taking the coin out of his bag, āI aināt ever made you pay for a pape either, donāt youās try and start now.ā
āYou know I always end up givinā the money to Jack to slip in your bunk, right?ā
The smile on the boys face rivals the beam of the sun as he wipes the beads of sweat off of his forehead, blue eyes sparkling down at her.
āYouās always been good to me, Y/N,ā he says, āaināt you tired of me yet?ā
She smiles back, swatting his upper arm with the paper.
āThat aināt gonna happen.ā
āMorning newsboy,ā she smiles, tapping the blonde on the shoulder, āgot anything good for me today?ā
The boy smiles back, tucking his cigar in his shirt pocket.
āGot one right 'ere special,ā he says, flattening the paper, ā'Manhattan newsboy claims to have seen an angelā, best story in town.ā
Her reply is cut off by a sneering voice from behind the pair.
āWell would you look what we have here,ā he says, ālilā Y/N associating with a dirty newsie.ā
āWhatās it to ya Oscar?ā Race asks, teeth gritted.
āItāll be interesting to see how your father reacts to this development, Y/N,ā Morris says, ādonāt think heād take to it kindly.ā
āWhat I do in my free time is none of my fatherās business,ā Y/N says, shooting glares at the two bullies, ābesides, he knows I go out and buy a paper everyday.ā
āWell, weāll just see about that,ā Oscar practically growls.
Morris shoves Race into a nearby wall, he and his brother quickly taking off down the street. The boy stares after them, making sure they didnāt turn around for another fight.
āIdiots, wish I could give them a good soakinā.ā She says, shaking her head. āYou okay?ā
āTheyāve done worse,ā Race replies, brushing down his shirt, āthey know your father?ā
āLots of people do,ā she replies, swallowing a bit, āheās a doctor uptown, helped out the Delanceyās a time or two when their dad got injured working on the trolly.ā
āOh, youāreā¦ā Race stops himself, swallowing back the words he wants to say.
Better than me in every single way.
āIām?ā She prompts, eyebrows raised.
Race smiles, heart melting at the prospect of a girl like her being friends with a guy like him.
āYouāre amazing, ās all,ā he says, handing her the paper, āhere, from 'fore weās got interrupted.ā
Y/N smiles back, placing a dime in his palm in exchange for the paper.
āDonāt even try to give that back,ā she teases, āwe all know it wonāt work.ā
Race stares at the spot where her fingers brushed against his hand, half a smile on his face.
āIāll uh,ā he mentally shakes his head, clearing his thoughts as he looks back up at her, āIāll see youās tomorrow?ā
When she returns home that night, itās as if she can sense the tension in the air before she enters.
āWhen I tell you to go buy a paper never were the words 'make friends with the newsiesā uttered from my mouth.ā
Her fatherās voice made her jump as she closes the front door, and the girl to swallows down her nerves.
āTheyāre just kids, papa,ā she says, āsome of them are my age, and Iām polite, just like I am to everyone else I come in contact with.ā
āThatās not what Iāve been told,ā he barks, āthe Delancey boys have been kind enough to tell me exactly how polite you are with thoseā¦riff raff.ā
āRiff raff is not the word I would use,ā she says boldly, causing the man to slam his hand down on the table.
āI will not have you ruin the reputation of my name by hanging around those street rats,ā he shouts, āyou are an upper class girl, and you will hold yourself as such. Those ruffian children should not receive one dime of the money that I worked for, they do not deserve it.ā
āTheyāre working just as hard for mere pennies,ā she says, taking a step forward, āif not harder. Theyāre just children, papa, and a lot of them are younger than I am. Theyāre orphans, or theyāre working to feed their own families. That doesnāt give you or anyone the right to treat them as anything less than us, if anything they deserve to be treated as better than us.ā
The house is silent for a few moments, the man breathing heavily through his nose. He moves slowly, confidently, and points at the door.
The rapid knocking on the lodge door woke most of the boys, and with Race being second in command, he took it as his responsibility to see who it was. It just happened to be the last person he ever expected to see outside his home after sunset.
āY/N?ā He tucks his cigar into his shirt pocket, worry on his face, āwhatās wrong darlinā?ā
The tears spill over her eyes after he asks, throwing her arms around the boy as she sobs.
āHe kicked me out,ā she finally says, āmy father. I stood up to him, defended you and the other newsies and he kicked me out.ā
Race wraps his arms around her, holding her tight to his chest. He strokes her hair, trying to calm her down so he can bring her inside.
āI-Iām sorry,ā she says, pulling away and wiping underneath her eyes, āI shouldnāt be here, but I hadnāt anywhere else to go.ā
āNonsense, youās always welcome 'ere,ā Race replies, wiping a stray tear form her cheek, āc'mon, letās get inside before both of us catch a cold.ā
He leads her in with an arm around her shoulders, shooing the other boys away and telling them to go back to bed. She follows him to his part of the room, half a smile on her face as he hands her some of his clothes to change into.
āIāll keep the boys out,ā he says, ājust open the door when youāve changed.ā
She does as he tells her, and a feeling of safety and comfort falls over her as she slips on his checkered shirt. He comes back in as soon as she opens the door, smiling softly.
āThanks for letting me stay with you,ā she whispers, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, ātruth be told I donāt really have any other friends I could call on. No other friends in general, actually.ā
āWell youās got us,ā Race smiles, āwe aināt much, but weāre 'ere, always.ā
āCan I come sell with you tomorrow?ā She asks hesitantly. āJust a few papers so I can figure out how itās done? I promise I wonāt be a hinderance. And Iāll split the money with you so you donāt loose anything from helping me.ā
āShh,ā Race stops her rambling, placing a hand on her cheek, ācourse you can. 'N donāt worry 'bout the money. I bet youās a natural.ā
She blushes, looking down at her shoes.
āI appreciate this, Race,ā she whispers, āmore than anything. Most guys wouldnāt do this.ā
āWell I aināt most guys,ā Race smirks, motioning to the cot, āc'mon, we needs rest if weās gonna sell tomorrow.ā
Five weeks later and true to his prediction, Y/Nās a natural seller.
āI swear, sometimes it seems like you was born to be a newsie,ā Race says one afternoon after watching Y/N sells her last paper, shaking his head, āyou make a good sellinā partner.ā
āShut up,ā she shoves him lightly, rolling her eyes, āyouāre just sayinā that cause youās my teacher, idiot.ā
āYouās even startinā tā talk like us!ā Race exclaims, placing a dramatic hand over his heart. āIām so proud.ā
āYeah well,ā she shrugs a bit, ābeen with youās for five weeks, things start tā rub off.ā
Race watches as her eyes dim just the slightest bit, twisting his lips into a frown.
āYouāve been back there at all?ā He asks quietly.
āNot since we got my stuff,ā she replies, āhad tā sneak in through the window then. My brother wouldnāt even look at me.ā
āHey, shh,ā Race pulls her into a nearby alley, wrapping his arms around her comfortingly, āIām sorry, I didnāt mean tā bring it back up.ā
āI jusā,ā she shakes her head, blinking away the tears threatening to spill over, āI guess I just still donāt get it. How he could look at his own flesh and blood and kick me out just because I made friends with you.ā
āYa know,ā he stops, kicking a rock with his shoe, āya never told me what actually happened. Jusā that he kicked youās out because of us.ā
āRace, Iā¦ā she shakes her head again, āI canāt use his words, call you those thingsā¦I canāt.ā
āHey now, I knows you donāt mean them,ā he says, āwhatever they are, youās can tell me.ā
āHe said you were riff raff, street rats,ā she whispers, looking at the ground, āruffians. Said that you all didnāt deserve any of the money he worked for. And when I defended you, when I said that you lot deserved the money more than probably anyone else in the city, he told me to get out. First thing that came to my head was to come to you.ā
āWell Iām glad you did,ā he smiles, ācouldnāt stand the thought of youās out wanderinā the streets alone.ā
He brings a hand to her face, trying to catch her gaze.
āYou know I donāt think what he says is true, right?ā She asks. āIf anything I think you 'n the other newsies are by far the best people Iāve ever met in my entire life. I mean, none'a the people I met through my parents would have let me in if I had shown up on their doorstep after midnight 'n I do-ā
Race places his hand over her mouth, smiling fondly as she finally looks up at him.
āYou talk a lot, you knows that?ā He teases. āLike, more than anyone one I knows. Even Davey, and his nickname is Mouth.ā
āSorry,ā she mumbles against his skin, and Race smiles again.
He pulls his hand away, pulling his hat off of his head. He leans against the wall, running a hand through his hair with an overdramatic look of contemplation on his face.
āI donāt care much for ruffian,ā he finally says, ābut street rat, that I can get behind.ā
Race shrugs a bit, taking a step closer to her.
āI could be your street rat, if you wants me to be.ā
āIā¦ā she trails off, furrowing her eyebrows, āwhat are you sayinā?ā
āYou know what Iām sayinā,ā he whispers, leaning closer to her.
āJusā say the word, if you wants me to stop,ā he mutters, placing a gentle hand on her waist.
His breath fans over her face, and her eyes flutter down to his lips. A feeling of longing forms in her stomach.
Itās her that finally closes the gap between them, twisting his shirt in her fist and pulling his lips down onto hers. Race pulls her closer, chests flush against each other as her hands tangle in his curls.
āThis is,ā she pulls back a bit, but Race kisses her chastely again, āimproper. Weāre in an alley, an-ā
He pulls her back to him, placing both his hands on her cheeks as he presses another kiss to her lips.
āIf I worried everyday 'bout whatās proper 'n whatās not I would never do anythinā else,ā Race says, shaking his head, āif you donāt want this, Iāll respect that,ā he whispers, āI donāt wanna force you into anythinā.ā
He moves backwards, but she chases his lips with her own, placing her hand on the back of his neck to bring his head down.
āSorry,ā she mumbles against his mouth, āthat was the old me slippinā through. This is justā¦all new, ām still gettinā used to it.ā
āBut itās what you want?ā He asks, carding a hand through her hair.
āMore than anything.ā
He kisses her again, fully and properly, and the girl melts into his touch. Race practically pins her against the brick wall, hand resting on her jawline.
āYou donāt mind settlinā for a street rat?ā He teases, trailing his lips down her neck.
āConsiderinā Iām one'a you now,ā she smiles, āit aināt settlinā at all.ā
