Ok I love your writing so much, especially your newsies ones like JANSJSBWHJS - anyways you have my heart and I was wondering if you could do just like a short little Drabble with Albert being scared of thunderstorms and the reader comforting him… 🥺
asdfijoij i LOVE writing for newsies and this prompt >>>>
masterlist
You’re alone in your room at the Lodging House when Albert DaSilva first bursts through the doors, chest heaving as if he’s ran a marathon. Although the room is filled with the temporarily empty bunks of about a dozen or so other newsies, Albert doesn’t head to his bed, or even that of Race (where he keeps the cigars). Instead, he heads straight towards you, and doesn’t stop until he’s standing right in front of you.
You look up at him slowly. It’s a rather big height difference right now, as you’re sitting on the ground with your back up against your bunk, although Albert is quick to sit down next to you the second you give him the half-nod that all newsies know is silent for ‘you alright?’
He runs a hand through his coppery hair, looking more stressed than you’ve seen him in a long time. Although he’s the one who sought you out, Albert’s eyes dart around the room as if even he can’t remember why he’s there.
You reach out a concerned hand to gently rest against his arm. “Hey, Albert. Everything okay?”
Albert doesn’t respond immediately, just points wordlessly towards the windows outside. The thin curtains reveal a storm-torn city outside, wind and rain lashing the glass panes. At last, you understand when he flinches at the same time as a particularly loud bout of thunder- Albert’s got a fear of thunderstorms.
You hold your arms out to him silently, and Albert moves over, picking you up and tucking you against his chest so your chin is underneath your head. “I didn’t want to say anything. ‘M sorry to bother you, but I couldn’t be alone and I knew the other boys’d give me trouble.”
You smile at the thought that Albert thought of you first. “It’s no problem to me. Storm or no storm, I still think you’re one of the bravest boys we’se got. You chased the Delanceys off for me just today, didn’t you?”
You can feel Albert laugh, the gentle shake of his chest. “It was nothing. They’re just a bunch of losers.”
You grin in spite of yourself. “Well, I appreciate it anyway.” You can feel Albert’s formerly frantic heartbeat slowing down, the thrum of it echoing in your ears like an orchestra. His arms, bare from the sleeves of his t-shirt, keep you close. You almost wish that the storm would take its time, just so you wouldn’t have to get up from this.
Albert murmurs something against the top of your head. “Thanks for this. For staying with me.”
You smile even though he can’t see it. “Any time, Al. You know that.”
He leans forward so he can see the expression on your face, making sure you aren’t making it up. Satisfied, he presses a quiet kiss to your cheek before straightening back up. “I think I do.”
The storm thunders on, but in the Lodging House, the two of you are content to just stay here, keeping each other close.
Warnings: fluff (what’s new) and a sprinkle of angst
REQUEST(S):
A/N: I stumbled across this on one of my mutuals blogs and thought it was cute so I decided to write it even though it wasn’t really requested. I really hope you like it girly (even though it took me 10 decades to write)!
Summary: You grew up in the South, but when your father’s job got transferred, you and your family were forced to move to Manhattan. On an early morning walk, you come across a red-haired newsie that had a smile you couldn’t resist.
A warm orange sun shone over the streets of New York. It was fairly early in the morning, but that’s when you did your best thinking. With your strawberry blonde hair wisping in the slight breeze, you walked the sidewalk of your new home taking in what it has to offer. You grew up in a somewhat small town and had never lived in a place nearly this large. Moving here with your parents and younger sister was a change, but you decided you were going to make the most of iIt had been about a week since your family moved into a small apartment in Lower Manhattan, and you hadn’t had the chance to do much sightseeing. Struggling to sleep, you decided that this was a good time to explore; before most of the city was up and awake.
Of course, as they say, New York never sleeps, and there are a few other early risers around you. You attempt to give small smiles to passing strangers, but most of them have their eyes trained ahead not paying attention to others. That’s another fact you realize you have to get used to.
You find yourself walking around the edge of Central Park when you hear a bell sound from not too far away. Thinking nothing of it, you continue your pace. But as you’re walking, you start to see boys taking the streets with what appears to be large packages in their hands. They disperse into pairs and quickly start setting themselves on various corners. As you near the commotion that recently developed, you see that they are not packages, but stacks of today's papers.
Finding yourself lost in thought of these boys that now line the streets, you didn’t notice that you were coming up on a corner where two of them set up shop for the morning.
“Mornin’ miss, you’s out early. Care to buy a pape?” One of the boys asked, snapping you out of the daydream you were caught in. You turn your head towards the voice and stop for a moment when you’re met with a smiling face.
“Awe, what did I say Jojo? I called her from all the way down the block!” the other complained.
Your attention turned to the other newsie and your eyes locked. You felt your lips part as you took in the features of the red-haired boy. You admired the way his brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the early morning sunlight and how his hair was methodically tucked into his ragged cap. Your breath feels stolen from you.
“Shut it, Al,” the one presumably named Jojo said, snapping you out of your haze. The red-haired boy, whose name you learned is Al, looked at Jojo and rolled his eyes at the comment. Still recovering, words get caught in your throat as you attempt to answer the original question.
“I-uh- don’t have any money for y’all,” you sheepishly smile at them. This was true; you hadn’t even considered bringing money on your walk.
“Woah, where’s that accent from Miss? I’s never heard one like that before,” Al asked curiously, coming to stand next to Jojo. You forgot that your southern drawl is out of the ordinary here, you’re the different one in New York.
Your eyes dropped, once again feeling overwhelmed. “My family just moved here from down south; I guess this is the accent we’ve got down there,”
“I think it’s beautiful,” the red-haired one flashed a crooked grin causing your heart rate to speed up. “The name’s Albert, and what might your’s be Miss?” he reached for your hand and brought it up to his mouth to place a delicate kiss on your knuckles. Your heart fluttered.
“Y/N,” you blush, not used to this kind of treatment from strangers, and cute strangers at that.
“Well Miss Y/N, even though you’s not buying one of my amazing papes, I can’t help but hope I’ll see you around here again?” he asks. You are all of a sudden very aware of the dimple that shows when he smiles and that his deep, chocolate eyes haven’t left your own since the start of the conversation.
“I guess we’ll have to see,” you joked, starting on your way.
And that was all, but you could hear them whispering as you walked away. You couldn’t help but have a smile on your face knowing that they might still be talking about you.
For the rest of the day, all you could think about was the cute, ginger-haired boy that kissed your hand this morning. After you walked away from Albert and Jojo, you weren’t planning on visiting them again; it was an interesting experience, but there wasn’t a reason to go back to that very spot. There were newspaper sellers that were way closer to your apartment; you could just buy one from them.
Thinking this through, you realized that you didn’t even want the paper. If you went and found them again tomorrow, you wouldn’t be there just to buy from them; you would be there to see the boy that took your breath away.
That next morning you searched your room for a nickel. Once you found one, you left your house at about the same time hoping they’d be in the same spot where you left them. As you came up on the corner, though, you didn’t recognize the newsboy occupying the space.
“You’re up bright and early this morning, doll. Can I interest you in today’s paper?” the blonde, curly-haired newsboy asked, flashing a flirty smile.
“Actually, I’m looking for two boys, you may know them. They were on this corner yesterday. I think their names are Albert and Jojo?” you questioned, hoping you didn’t sound completely crazy.
His eyes widen and his jaw drops the slightest bit. “Well do my eyes deceive me, you’s the girl with the southern drawl Al was talking about last night.”
“Wait, what?” you asked, unsure how to process the information. You spent all of yesterday thinking about him, but it didn’t even cross your mind that he could have been thinking about you as well.
“Oh, I’s wasn’t supposed to say that,” he caught himself. “They decided to switch they’s spot for the day, I can take you to ‘em if you’re interested” he smiles.
“Yeah I think I’d like that,” you reply, not being able to conceal the giddy feeling you have because Albert was thinking about you too. The boy leads the way down the street, a little skip in his step.
“Can I tell you’s something?” he asked, a giggle lining his voice.
“Sure?” you answer uncertainly.
“Last night, Al wouldn’t shut up about you. You’re all he talked about all night,”
Your cheeks flush and turn a bright red.
“Look, you’s blushing!” Race pointed out.
Deciding not to comment, you let out a laugh and change the subject. “I never caught your name,”
He smirked at you, knowing you changed the subject on purpose. “It’s Racetrack, but most of the guys just call me Race,”
“Where did you get that nickname, Mister Race?”
“Unimportant, what I’s wanna know is where you got that accent of yours. It’s not a common one up here in New York,,”
“My family and I just moved up from the South. My father got his job transferred to the city, so we live here now,”
As you tell Race about why you’re now living in New York, you catch a glimpse of a red-haired boy selling newspapers from a block up ahead. Unknowingly, your pace quickens, the anticipation of seeing him again building. Race drops off from your side when you get closer, letting you approaching him by yourself. Albert is consumed in his selling when you arrive at his corner and Jojo is nowhere in site.
You come up from behind him and tap him on the shoulder.
“Excuse me, mister. I’d like to buy a paper,”
At the sound of your voice, his head perks up. He spins around and his eyes meet your own. He flashes his cocky grin as a piece of his hair falls in front of his eyes.
“Miss Y/N, I wasn’t expecting to see you’s again,” he beamed.
“Well, I did tell you that I’d buy one of your amazing papes,” you answered, putting ‘amazing’ in air quotes. You pull the nickel from your pocket and hold it in your open hand as an invitation for him to take it.
He reaches for the nickel and pulls a paper out of his bag. “Before I gives this to you though, you ought to know the headline,” he jokes.
You cross your arms knowing that he’s fooling around with you. Albert leans up against the nearest building and opens the paper as if he were to read it himself. His eyes go wide as he appears to be reading one of the feature articles.
“Well if you’d look at that headline,” he raves. “It reads that a family from the south has just moved into Manhattan, and would you looky here, it says their daughter is the most beautiful girl in New York,”
You just roll your eyes and join him leaning against the wall. “The paper doesn’t say that, you made it up,”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not true,” he smirked.
He did it again. The newsboy single-handedly stole your breath leaving you speechless. Your eyes dropped as you felt your cheeks heating up.
“What’s up lovebirds?” you heard a familiar voice ask.
“Scram Jojo,” Albert grumbled.
You looked up to find the other newsie you met yesterday morning. “Calm down Al, just greeting the lovely lady,”
Race soon comes sliding and joins the conversation. “Everything alright over here? Hey Al, what’d she say?” he questioned.
“What did I say to what?”
This earned Race a soaked shoulder from Albert. Though Race winced at first contact, he was soon laughing. “Jeez Al, I just thought you would have asked her first chance you got speaking that you’s didn’t shut up about her last night,”
Albert shot a warning look at Race and he put his hands up in mock defense, stifling a giggle. Jojo couldn’t contain it though; he was bent over laughing. You were confused, but figured it was normal for these boys to make fun of each other.
Al sent yet another look towards the boys as if to tell them to get away. Jojo and Race caught the hint fairly quickly.
“We’ll see you at lunch, Al,” Race smirked.
“See you, Y/N,” Jojo said before the pair disappeared into the crowd of people on the sidewalks of New York City.
You look up at Al hoping he’d clue you into what just happened, but eyes remain looking at his feet. Shifting his weight from foot to foot, you wait for him to say something, but he doesn’t. You decide to start the conversation.
“You really think I’m the most beautiful girl in New York?” you ask.
Albert lets out a laugh in relief. “Y/N, I see thousands of people daily out here, and I’s never seen anyone nearly as pretty, as you” he smiles. “So that’s why I was wondering if you’d let me take you out tonight? It won’t be much, but I’d really love to spend more time with you. You know, if you’d like to?” you can hear the nerves in his voice.
“I would love nothing more,” you say, meeting his eyes. A surprised look spread across his face which makes you laugh. “Don’t look so surprised, how could I say no to the most handsome boy in New York,”
Albert just chuckled at your comment and pulled you in for a hug.
“Meet me at the corner where I was yesterday?” he asks.
“I’ll be there,” you smile, parting ways with a new excitement for the day.
You sit on the corner of a New York street and admire your boyfriend and his fellow newsies as they sell the days paper. You and Albert had been seeing each other for a few months now. The first night you went out was one of your favorite memories since moving to New York. Albert had taken you on a tour of the city, pointing out his favorite spots and cracking jokes along the way to make you laugh.
As he said, it wasn’t much, but it was perfect for you.
Your parents hadn’t met Albert yet. They knew of him, and no matter how much explaining you tried to dish out, they weren’t fond of the idea of you dating a ‘homeless scoundrel’.
Even just thinking of you parents calling Albert that fills you with rage.
You hadn’t planned on telling Albert about what your parents thought of him, but it slipped one day when he was asking you questions about your family. Telling by his facial expressions, the words hurt, but you assured him that their words didn’t matter to you, and they shouldn’t matter to him either.
Ever since that situation, Albert hadn’t brought your family up again. You think that he was too scared to. You had wanted to bring him home for dinner one night, to prove to your parents that he was a good person, but you were always terrified of what would happen if your parents decided not to accept him.
But for some reason, sitting on the corner in the sun, that fear seemed distant. You decide that today is the day that Albert was going to meet your family, no matter what happened.
Al wiped the sweat from his brow and sat down next to you.
“Good selling day?” you ask.
“Could be better, but not the worst. You wanna know why?” he smirks.
You play along. “Why?”
“Cause I get to spend it with my southern belle,”
Albert pulls you in for a kiss and the two of you enjoy the moment. After the kiss breaks, you decided it’s now or never. If you didn’t invite him over when you felt this confident about it, you didn’t know if you’d ever get the courage to again.
“Hey, Al? I’ve been thinking,”
“That’s never good,” interjects Race who was obviously eavesdropping on your conversation. The two of you had formed a really good friendship since you’ve met him. He’s the big brother you never had, and you both enjoy teasing each other like it.
“Shut it, Racer,” Al groans. “What’s you been thinkin’ about?” he asks, turning his whole attention to you.
“Well, I know that my parents aren’t too fond of the idea of you and me being together, but I really want you to come over for dinner tonight,”
Albert didn’t respond right away. He didn’t know how.
“I know it may be uncomfortable, but it’s important to me. Plus, once they meet you, they’re going to change their minds, I just know it,” you add, trying not to let doubt take over his thinking.
“If it’s important to you, then of course I’ll come,” he finally responds. “But if things start not going too well, I’s going to be out of there,”
You nod, understanding his one condition. “Sounds fine,”
Laying your head on his shoulder, you feel his tense muscles loosen and his whole body relax. “You really think they’ll like me?” he quietly asks.
“I don’t see how you couldn’t. Just don’t make any dirty jokes,” you warn.
This earns a laugh from Al. “Awe, but Y/N, that’s what I do best,”
The rest of the selling day went on as normal. Usually, you went back to the lodging house with them after they sold out, but you felt like you needed to give your parents a heads up before you brought Al over.
When you got home, the first person you told was your little sister, Maddie. She was the one that you constantly confided in about Albert, for she didn’t have the same opinions on him as your parents did. She was constantly begging you to take her on the streets one day with Albert, but you decided it was too dangerous. Maddie always wanted to meet Al, and this was her chance.
You and Maddie went into the kitchen to confront your parents that Albert was coming for dinner, and with no surprise to you, they were not okay with the plan. Your mother was appalled that you had even thought to invite him before asking first. Your father even claimed that you were becoming as ill-mannered as the other homeless kids in New York. Their words stung, but you weren’t taking no for an answer.
“He’s coming, and that’s how it’s going to be,” you say. “He doesn’t have a family and I’m determined to make sure that he has one from now on.” Your tone was harsh, but you knew it was the only way you were getting through this conversation without defeat.
They reluctantly gave in, still not excited about the fact that he was coming.
Your sister was over the moon though. When you said that you were going to go and see him at the lodging house before he came over, your sister begged to come along. You always told stories about the other newsies and she had always wanted to meet them. The boys had wanted to meet her too.
Knowing your parents wouldn’t approve of her coming, the two of you snuck down the fire escape of your apartment and on to the streets of New York.
The lodging house wasn’t incredibly far, but it was still a hike. Your sister asked you questions about the boys and what they are like. You explain what each of them looks like so she has an idea when you arrive. You had already described Albert to her many times, but you tell her that Race has blonde curly hair with striking blue eyes and that Jojo was the brunette with a kind smile. You playfully warned her about the boy in blue. Jack was the leader, so make sure to listen to him. You laugh knowing Jack was just as sweet as all the other boys.
You come up to the lodging house, and your sister looks confused.
“They live here?”
You sigh. “Yeah, they can’t afford much, remember? They’ve got no family,”
You had explained this to her before, but she hadn’t understood it until now.
Being here all the time, you don’t even knock anymore. You enter the building and find your way to the common room where most of the newsies hang out after the selling day. Racetrack is the first one to notice you and your sister entering the room.
“Y/N!” Race yelled, jumping up from his seat to come and greet you. He hugs you and then turns his attention to your sister. “Oh my, is this Maddie?” he asks, remembering your sister's name from the times you’ve talked about her.
“Are you Race?” she asks.
He looks a little taken aback. “How’d you know that?”
“Y/N said Race is the one with the blonde curls and the blue eyes. And that he’s always hugging her and that he’s like a big brother to her,”
Race looks at you with a happy look on his face. “I’m like your big brother?”
You nod and smile at him. You figured he knew, but the look on his face shows that he is somewhat surprised by my comment.
“Well, Maddie, think of me as your big brother too!” he says, picking her up and swinging her in circles. Maddie squealed with delight and you couldn’t help but laugh. You were lucky to have a friend like Race.
“What’s all the commotion?” a deep voice asks from the stairwell. Jack emerged confused but smiled when he saw you and your sister. “What is you guys doing here?” he smiles.
“Albert’s coming over tonight for dinner,” you answer. “I thought that I’d walk him over to our place, and this little one was just dying to meet the famous newsies I always talk about,”
Jack groans. “So you’s telling me that Al’s gettin’ a home cooked meal tonight and we’s not. Lucky bastid,”
“Language,” you warn. Jack covered his mouth, but he couldn’t help but smile. “Of course I’ll bring you all leftovers, I always do,”
Jack comes and hugs you. “We know you do,”
“Albert’s nervous,” Race starts. “He’s literally been gettin’ himself ready since we got back from selling. Man’s a mess,”
You decide that you should go up and see him. Leaving Maddie with the boys, you venture up the stairs until you reach the floor that Albert stays on. You stick your head around the corner and see that he’s the only one around. You make your way into the room, but Al doesn’t hear you. Climbing on the bed from behind, you wrap your arms around him.
Albert jumps at first but settles when he recognizes the gesture.
“What’re you doin’ here?”
“I came to escort my boyfriend to dinner, anything wrong with that?” you ask, sneaking a kiss on his cheek. From the kiss, you can tell that he shaved for tonight. You also see that his hair is a bit shorter, more clean cut. “You got a haircut, did Buttons do it?”
“Yeah,” he simply answered.
You sense his nerves and move from your position to sitting next to him. Laying your head on his shoulder, he sighs.
“They’re going to love you,” you try to reassure him.
“Yeah, but what if they don’t. I don’t want to lose you Y/N. You’re the best thing I’ve got. I’ve lost so much in my life and I don’t think I care bare losing you too,”
You pick up your head and the two of you lock eyes.
“No matter what happens, you’re not losing me. They couldn’t keep me from you and your loser friends if they tried,”
You earned a laugh from him as he wrapped you in a hug.
“I love you, Y/N,”
The words caught you off guard. The two of you had been together long enough to say those simple words, but you didn’t know if they’d ever come. You always thought that you felt love for the boy with the fire red hair, but you never said it, neither did he. Those three words quickened your heart rate.
“I love you too, Al,” you smile. “Now finish getting ready, there might be someone downstairs wanting to meet you,”
“No way, you brought Maddie?” his face lit up. Albert finished getting ready quickly, and the two of you made your way downstairs. You look at your boyfriend and notice that he put his full effort into making a good first impression. He picked his cleanest shirt, which happened to be green and a nice pair of pants. His shoes weren’t his, he must have borrowed them. Albert also wasn’t wearing his newsies cap, his hair was neatly combed.
The two of you make it to the main floor and enter the common area where you find your sister sitting on Jojo’s shoulders while he runs around the room. Maddie spots Albert and her face lit up even more than it already was.
“Jojo, let me down,” she says, still laughing. He, too, noticed the both of you entered the room and lifted her down from his shoulders. Maddie runs over and gives Albert a hug. You admired how comfortable she is with strangers, although, with how much you talked about Albert, he wasn’t a stranger to her.
“Now, you must be Maddie,” he says, squatting down so he’s at her level. “I hear that I’s gonna escort you to dinner tonight,”
He flashes a smile.
“Wow, your smile is as pretty as Y/N described it,”
Your face turned a little red, remembering how you described him to your sister. Albert stands up and holds out his arm from Maddie to grab onto. He reciprocated the action on the other side. With a quick goodbye, the three of you were on your way.
Maddie did most of the talking on the way back to your house. She asked questions about Albert and his life and his job. She asked more about the boys and Albert answered every question to the best of his ability.
When you all arrived at the apartment, you sent Maddie up first to warn your parents that we had arrived. Albert and I stood outside for a few minutes.
“You think my smile’s pretty?” he grinned.
You laugh, thinking you got away from that conversation. “I may have described your smile that way,”
“Yeah? What else did you say about my smile,”
“That it was cocky,” you answer. Albert’s hands fly to his heart as if I had just shot him.
He laughs. “Oh, Y/N, that hurts,”
With that, the two of you head up to your apartment, not sure what was going to happen next. Opening the door, you see that the table was set and that your father was already seated. Upon spotting the two of us, he stands up to meet Albert. Your father’s neutral expression surprises you, you thought he’d put on a more intimidating face.
Albert and your father shake hands and exchange hellos. Your mother emerges from the kitchen with Maddie on her tail and comes to greet Albert. Your mother wears a warm expression, not a cold one you were expecting. She pulls Al in for a hug and speaks of how nice it is to finally meet him.
Your family turns to go and take seats at the table and Albert gives you a confused look. You just shrug not knowing what exactly was happening either. After everyone was seated, your mother went to the kitchen to grab the meal.
She made spaghetti with a salad on the side. From the look on Albert’s face, you can see that he is a fan of her choice. He looks as if he was going to grab everything the minute it was set on the table in front of him, but he restrains himself and waits until everyone around the table gets their food before he grabs his own.
We sit in silence for a little while as everyone starts eating. Your mother is the first to break the quietness.
“So Albert, what do you do with yourself every day,” she asks, knowing the answer already. You appreciate the effort to make conversation though, it means she’s trying.
Albert explains that he sells papers for The World every day. Your parents ask about what the job conditions are like, how much he makes, where he stays every night. When Albert talks about the lodging house, your mother gives you a look.
“Is that where you stay if you don’t come home at night,” she asks, raising an eyebrow. Every once and a while, you would stay with Albert at the lodging house. It was never out of spite, but it sometimes happened because of weather or just losing track of time.
You start to answer, but Albert interjects.
“Yes Miss, but she only stays when I feel like it’s not safe enough for the return home, like if it’s storming or somethin’. Then she always stays with the other girls at the lodge, they let her use a bed for the night. She’s very safe with us,” he replies for you.
The part about staying with the other girls is false, but there was some truth to that statement. I am safe when I’m there with them.
Your parents seem to approve of that answer.
“Plus, the boys are funny,” your sister joins the conversation. “Race and Jojo and Jack are my favorites,”
“I still can’t believe you brought her,” your father states, not looking up from his food.
You start to feel like you and Albert are losing control of the conversation due to the look on your father's face. He’s retreating to his preconceived opinion on Albert.
“Don’t be mad at them, Dad. I forced Y/N to bring me,” Maddie says, defending the two of us. You make eye contact with her and she smiles. She may be young, but she knows what she’s doing.
The rest of the night goes smoothly. More questions go flying, but not one of them is a backhanded insult directed at your boyfriend. To your surprise, you feel like your parents almost like him. The conversation flows and you see Albert loosen up somewhere in the middle of the dinner. When everyone is finished eating, Albert looks at the time and comments that he better be getting back to the lodging house soon, he was in charge of making sure all of the younger newsies got to bed tonight. You didn’t know if that was true or not, but it did make your mother melt a bit. Everyone gathers at the door and starts exchanging goodbyes. Maddie goes first. She wraps her arm around Albert.
“You and the boys will let me visit the lodge again?” she asks, hopeful.
He laughs. “The boys would love to have you, but make sure you ask your parents before you come this time, neither of us needs to get into trouble,”
Next, my mother goes, she hugs him as well. “Please come for dinner again, it was delightful to have you,” Albert looks surprised by the comment, but thanks her saying he’d love to join us again.
My father is the last to say goodbye to Albert, and he’s the one I’m most nervous for. He holds his hand out for another handshake.
“I like you, DaSilva. Take care of her, or we’ll have to talk,”
You think you can even see a smile.
Albert’s shoulders drop as if he just let two tons of pressure off of them. He nods and smiles, unsure of what to say. This night didn’t go the way any of us thought it would.
Albert and I leave the apartment as I walk him outside. A comfortable feeling washes over the both of you knowing the night went as well as it could. The two of you looked at each other and smiled, still processing the past couple hours.
“That couldn’t have gone any better,” you say.
Albert doesn’t respond, he just pulls you into a big hug. He doesn’t let go, and you don’t want him to, the moment is too perfect.
You don’t know how long the two of you stay in the moment, but Al breaks the silence with those three words that stopped your heart for the second time that day.
“I love you,”
“I love you, too,”
You don’t want him to leave. Considering going back to the lodging house with him, you realize that you didn’t want to push your luck. Then an idea hits you.
“Hey, do you actually need to be back at the lodging house tonight? I know you said that you were on headcount duty,”
“Someone’ll take care of it,”
You smile. “Okay good. You see that fire escape? Go up three stories and wait there, I’ll come get you in a few minutes,”
His face lights up and he doesn’t wait another second before taking off the for the fire escape. Laughing, you re-enter the building and head up the stairs to get to your apartment. As you open the door, you find your family all in the living room. They all look up when you enter, almost waiting for you to say something. You do.
“What changed?” you question, still a little ticked they made such a big deal out of this.
Your mother was the first to talk. “I realized that you were happy. You weren’t excited to move here away from everything you knew, but after you met him that first week, you were happier. I forgot about that,”
“Also,” your father starts. “In the few minutes that your sister was here and you weren’t, she talked about the boys at that place they stay. How they were all funny and sweet and how they played with her while you were talking to Albert upstairs. She mentioned one of them put her on her shoulders?”
“Jojo did!” she said excitedly, remembering earlier today.
You just smiled.
“I decided that I needed to give these boys a chance to be more than their situation. It isn’t fair to judge them based on their job or where they stay every night,” your father finishes his statement.
Happiness wells up within you. You spent the last few months dreading that your parents would hate Albert, that they would force the two of you to break up. Knowing that they like him takes away a lot of stress.
Remembering that Albert was on the fire escape waiting for you, you finished up the conversation with your parents and tell them that you had an exhausting day and that you were going to bed. You make your way to your room, and thank the universe for having a room with a window connected to the fire escape.
As quiet as you could manage, you slide open the window and climb out. You are met with a force pushing you up against the wall as familiar lips meet your own. The kiss deepens quickly and the two of you continue until you are both gasping for air.
“Wanna go up to the roof?” you ask. Albert nods and you take his hand leading him up the fire escape until you reach the top. The two of you take a seat against the wall that surrounds the top of the building. He drapes his arm across your shoulders as you cuddle into his side.
It was a clear Manhattan night. From the streets, you couldn’t see the stars very well because of the streetlights, but on the rooftop, the stars were big, bright and beautiful. This was your favorite part of your building; an oasis existed on top.
“Can I tell you something?” Albert asks.
“Of course,”
“You know that first day we met when I joked around with Jojo that I called you from all the way down the street, that wasn’t just me flirting. That actually happened,” he paused looking back up at the stars. “When I left the circulation gate that morning, I spotted you walking in our direction. I remember whisperin’ to Jojo that if that girl walks by us, she’s my sale. But as you came closer and closer, I fell in love with how your strawberry hair blew in the wind, and when you first spoke to us, your accent almost brought me to my knees. I knew I loved you from day one, and I still can’t figure out what made you settle for a guy like me,”
You feel tears welling in your eyes. Albert’s words settle in and you still can’t believe that you happen to walk past him and Jojo that first day. You were on a walk with no destination, you could have gone anywhere, yet your path crossed with his.
“I love you Albert DaSilva,” you whisper.
“I love you too, sweetheart,”
The two of you admire the stars as you drift off to sleep in the arms of the boy you loved.
