Modern AU

"And here we have yet another sap askin' someone to homecomin'," Albert said as the newsies, Davey, Kath and Brooklyn watched yet, another proposal to homecoming in the cafeteria. "Now that's the most cliché thing ever," Albert continued as he took a bite out of an apple. "I mean, hello! Nobody wants to see your display of PDA! Some people are tryin' to eat without tossin' their guts out from your sappiness thank you very much."

"You're just bitter cause you don't have a date yet Race stated. "Well, I know Tiffany Walkins and her boyfriend broke up bout a month ago. You could always ask her. You've had a crush on her since middle school."

"Please," Albert scoffed. "I got over Tiffany a long time ago."

"Which is a good thing," Feister added as she pointed her fork at the two boys. "May I remind you that Tiffany, Lacey and a piece of double bubble are responsible for my shoulder length hair days!? Now, I'm just speakin' the truth here when I say, Tiffany Walkins is nothin' but a little blonde bi-" before Feister could finish, Mush slapped his hand over his girlfriend's mouth so she wouldn't go off on a swearing spree. But, Feister shoved Mush's hand away and went on. "It's the truth and we all know it. She's nothin' but a manipulative little lyin' psycho. Just like her little blonde friend." it's crystal clear that Feister was talking about a completely different subject. "Both of 'em don't know when to quit. Seriously! How many psycho blondes does this school need. I say we ship 'em off to some tiny, remote island in the middle of the ocean."

"Tiffany can't be that bad...can she?" Brooklyn asked shyly.

"It's a tie between her and Lacey," Feister replied while sending Mush a fierce glare.

"It was two years ago," Mush sighed.

"Ya think I care bout that!" Feister yelled back.

"It was a stupid mistake I made when I was fourteen!"

"You really think I care bout that?!"

"There are two types of lovers in the world. Ya got your usual, everyday complete saps, then ya got Meister," Jojo said in the animal documentary narrator voice. "The couple that fights all day but somehow doesn't kill each other before goin' into the sappy they love each other kiss scene."

"You're forgettin' the big picture," Albert groaned.

"That you're goin' to Homecomin' as a single pringle," Jack joked as he wrapped his arm around Katherine.

"Yeah, yeah yeah. Rub it in Mister I Have a Date and You Don't," Albert grumbled.

"No one asked me ya know," Brooklyn piped up quietly. "Plus the fact dances aren't really my thing. I was planning on having a movie night in and if you don't have a date by then, you're welcome to join me if you want. As long as you don't pick any action movies."

"I ain't sittin' through no romance movies, or any chick-flicks," Albert pointed out. He already knew with homecoming being less than two weeks away, and practically all the boys had dates already, Albert's Friday night at Homecoming was turning into an actionless movie night with Freckles. Which wasn't a total loss if it meant some alone time to get to know her better without any interruptions (aka, Race and Mush). But then again, a night out with friends and a pretty girl was better than movies and take out. Or was it? Eh, it was fifty-fifty.

"I wouldn't get ya hopes up Freckles," Race said. "Fore ya know it Al will have himself a pretty girl to take to Homecomin'."

"Either way I was already planning on watching movies," Brooklyn replied with a shrug. It didn't matter to her if she would be watching movies alone or not. She was used to spending nights in by herself. Brooklyn was, and still is one that doesn't like a night out. She prefers to stay home, have some good food, with good movies or music that she can relax too.

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As Albert walked the hallway he was lost in thought about how a movie night with Brooklyn is nice, but maybe going to the dance together would be a bit better. There was no doubt the first time he ever laid eyes on Brooklyn that he instantly fell in love. Of course, Albert used to think love at first sight is for suckers like Jack. Yet, Jack obviously fell for Katherine the moment he saw her, there was no question about it. But..going to Homecoming with her would be even better.

After watching Jack and Katherine for a few months, Albert still thought it was pretty dumb to fall in love with someone at first sight. And while he's had a crush and a few girlfriends here and there, it never lasted long before either a break up came or he lost interest in one crush and moved onto the next.

However, Brooklyn changed that. And made Albert realize that love at first sight wasn't all that bad after all. She was different from every other girl he's encountered. But, of course, Albert wasn't sure if Brook felt the same way. That, and the fact she's practically oblivious to everything around her. He's tried flirting with her every now and again just to see if she would blush. She has. But the other boys can also make her blush, so that was out of the picture.

"I've got it!" none other than Racetrack Higgins yelled in the middle of the hallway. Albert turned around to see the blonde boy had somehow zoomed up to him and said, "I know the perfect girl for ya to take to-"

"The last time ya set me up on a date, her police force dad almost killed me!" Albert cut off. He still got the nightmares of being handcuffed and interrogated at a kitchen table to make sure he was a "proper gentlemen". Long story short, Albert got kicked out after his area 51 theory and never heard from that girl again.

"Well, this time I've found the perfect girl for ya Albie!" Race exclaimed happily. "And I would just like to point out that I'm the best wingman ever!"

"Tell me the girl before ya go that far," Albert replied while shaking his head.

"Freckles," Race said getting straight to the point. "She doesn't have anyone to go with, you're a lonely pringle that's ready to mingle. And don't ya dare so no cause I see how you two act around each other! You seem to be the only one to get her remotely outta that shell. Now, hear me out! I ain't no doctor, but I think that's her subconscious tryin' to flirt with ya!" Race explained, leaving Albert baffled about how in the world that made any sense. "Now, I know you're thinkin' that this is crazy. But the real question is why? Why if two people are meant to be called soulmates?" before Albert could answer, Race went on. "It's because somewhere inside there-" he tapped Albert's chest. "Is somethin' tryin' to get with the love of their life. Stay with me now Al cause I'm only gettin' started." this caused Albert to groan and walk away. But Race followed him and went on about the science of love and soulmates.

Apparently Race's theory was that in another life him and Brooklyn were once lovers. But of course something tragic happened like death, war that lead to death, untimely death, a family feud like what happened in Romeo and Juliet, and of course two idiot people who never made a move and lived a lonely life forever. Now the lost souls of those past lovers were obviously related to Albert and Brooklyn, and were trying to rekindle their love through their offspring. "And that's why you should man up and ask that girl to the dance no matter how much Mush threatens ya bout "if you make a move on my sister imma kill ya" act. Please, Feisty would stop that kid in a heartbeat with just a simple kiss on the cheek. Sometimes true love is gross, but in this case it helps ya and your haunted past to be with the love of your life!"

"Race, ya do know that logic is-"

"Look! There's Freckles now!" Race exclaimed when he saw the blue eyed girl by her locker. "Now's ya chance Bert!"

"Anthony!" Albert said in a warning tone. It's a well known fact that Albert cannot stand the name "Bert". If someone says the forbidden name, Albert loses his cool in less than a second. But of course, before that could happen, Race gave Albert a good, hard shove in Brooklyn's direction. The redhead stumbled on his feet and ended up crashing right into Brooklyn and landed on top of her. "I am so sorry Freckles!" Albert exclaimed as he quickly got up. "I swear it's Race's fault plus a stupid - I mean it ain't stupid but you're gonna-"

"Need the nurse," Brooklyn groaned as she slowly sat up and rubbed the back of her head.

"Nurse! Right!" Albert exclaimed in a panicked tone. "Umm...here, give me your arms!"

"Wah -?"

"Just do it!"

"O-ok," Brooklyn replied as she reached her arms out to Albert, who quickly picked her up in one swift move and carried her straight to the nurse's office. Brooklyn's head was throbbing too much to even process what was even happening. All she knew was one minute she was on the ground, and the next she was sitting in some sort of room.

"Is she gonna be ok doc?" Albert asked worriedly as he watched the nurse do her work.

"I haven't even done anything yet," the nurse replied deadpanned before going in to take a look at the damage. "So, how did this even happen? Gym class isn't until Friday. Which is kind of pointless since you kids will be dancing your feet out later that night. And a sweaty floor isn't my idea of a-"

"I kinda crashed into her," Albert replied while rubbing the back of his neck.

"So you crashed into this pretty young lady for what reason?" the nurse asked with a hand on her hip.

"My idiot friend."

"So, your idiot friend told you to crash into this pretty young lady for what reason?"

"It's...complicated," was all Albert could come up with at the moment. Usually, he was smooth when it came to girls. But of course, Albert had been caught off guard and fell into the hopeless nervous wreck for a few seconds all thanks to Race.

"Ahh...so it's one of those cases," the nurse said with a nod and a knowing look in her eyes. "For the girl, all she needs is an ice pack. For you, I'm giving a prescription of "get your act together and man up before it's too late"."

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The days soon went by and Spirit Week quickly came. So far, the boys who didn't have dates quickly found one, while Feister finally finished working on her dress since she couldn't afford to buy a real one. So she went to the thrift store and spruced one up to fit. It was a high low strapless dress that had a sweetheart neckline, flowy ruffles at the back end of the skirt, and a silver strap going around the waist. "I didn't know you were handy with a needle and thread," Brooklyn said as she admired the dress that was on the mannequin. She ran her hands over the soft fabric and took in how simple, yet beautiful it was.

"Well, when you get a lot of over sized hand me downs, you tend to pick on on these things quickly," Feister replied with a smile. "This shirt used to be Finch's and these shorts were once Elmer's," Feister added as she gestured to her outfit. "And the headband is outta an old flannel that ended up rippin' after Tommy took a tumble off his bike and into the duck pond." seeing as Feister is the smallest in the Lodge, it didn't matter if she cut something or not, it wasn't like the boys were ever going to wear it again.

"Impressive," Brooklyn replied. It was true. She never would've guessed that those clothes were once the boys old ones.

"OH!" Katherine gasped. "Feister! We almost forgot about you know what," Katherine replied with a quick wink.

Feister nodded before going over to her bed and opened up the middle draw and dug into it. She took out something that was wrapped in tissue paper before standing back up and handed it to Brooklyn. "Date or not, you should go to that dance," Feister said. Brooklyn carefully opened the tissue paper to see there was a navy high halter top with a pretty black bead and blue gem design that looked like flowers and leaves on a vine. The skirt was also navy and had pretty light pink flowers on it. The dress itself was a two piece, but nevertheless, still beautiful. "When I was lookin' for somethin' to make my dress out of, I found these pieces and thought of ya. It took a lot of cuttin' and tryin' to figure out your size. But your fairy God Sisters has managed to finish your dress right before your first big night with the crazy bunch. Well, with some help from Kath and maybe a beading lesson from Buttons since some of the things on the top piece were missing."

"I-I don't know what to say," Brooklyn replied dumbfounded. She wasn't planning on going to Homecoming at all, hence the reason why she didn't go thrifting for a dress. But, here she was, with a dress all set to be worn for a night of fun. "Thanks you two. But I'm not so sure if-"

"Look, I used to be exactly like you when it came to dances," Feister cut off. "It'll be my first dance as well, and I don't know what to expect, but what I do know is that it won't be the same without my sister tearin' up the dance floor." Feister nudged Brooklyn's shoulder. "I've seen ya dance, and you look as if nothin' is stoppin' ya. Even if ya don't have a date, I'm sure the idiots will wanna sneak a little dance with ya. But, if I'm bein' honest here, Albert will finally keep that loud mouth shut once he sees ya. Why else would he have crashed into you a few days ago? And even if that walkin' tomato don't ask ya. He'll still hang round ya like a bee to honey."

"What Feister is trying to say is...um..." Katherine tried to think of something good to say about Albert before turning to Feister and asked, "Are there any good qualities to Albert besides jokes, sarcasm and alien theories?"

Feister thought for a few moments before saying, "Believe it or not, Albert helps Romeo with his math homework since Race is horrible at numbers. Elmer used to get horrible nightmares and despite being grumpy bout it, Al would let him stay with him for the night. Scared some bullies away from Crutchie in middle school...and Al may be all cool guy big talk with the jokes. But in reality. He's just a big teddy bear. Oh and he's a good person to hug. Trust me on that.

"Albert a big soft teddy bear?" Brooklyn asked in shock. She never thought she'd hear those words, much less say them in the same sentence. "There's no way in the world."

"You are talking about Albert DaSilva, right?" Katherine asked.

"What?" Feister exclaimed. "I'm better at insultin', not findin' good qualities in the guy! He's a mysterious open book alright!"

"How can someone be mysterious and a open book at the same time?" Brooklyn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Are ya goin' to Homecomin' or not?" Feister asked getting the topic back to the matter at hand.

"You really think I should-"

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"Go see what's takin' those girls so long?" Romeo asked for the millionth time that night. Homecoming had finally come and the newsies were waiting on the girls to (finally) come down so they can leave. "I told Juliet I'd be there at six. It's 6:15 now! Her dad is gonna kill me for-"

"Romeo!" all the boys yelled at the younger boy to shut him up. Yep that's right, Romeo had managed to snag a date for his eight grade dance, which happened to be on the same night as the high schoolers Homecoming. But, at least they could all get a big group picture before heading out.

"Ya know, I expected Kath and maybe Freckles to take her time. But Feisty?! That girl's idea of "formal wear" is a clean pair of jeans and a nice shirt!" Race exclaimed while throwing his arms into the arm. "Now I get it the whole grand entrance thing, but seriously? Feisty don't know the first thing bout....why the hell do ya look like there's a ghost behind me?" Race asked. "Jack! Mush! Close your mouths fore ya swallow a fly, or at least not get drool all over the floor cause if so, you're the ones cleanin' it up, not me! C'mon, back me up on this Albert." no answer. "Albert. Albie. Leprechaun. Tomato. Gingerbread Man. Bertty. Alley Cat. Albo. Hello!" Race waved his hand in front of his best friend's face. "Why do ya look so dumb struck?"

"Race, for the love of papers quit going on your rants and actually look the right way for once," Katherine said, making the blonde boy turn around, who soon got a stupid look on his face. Katherine was wearing an off the shoulder red dress with a sweetheart neckline that had a gold applique at the bottom.

"Kath, somethin' to know bout Racer is that he's got a rant for just bout everythin'," Feister replied as she walked down the stairs with her arms linked with Katherine's.

"You girls look just...WOW!" Crutchie said with a wide smile as the two girls made it down the stairs. "Now I know why it takes so long for girls to get ready," he added with a little smirk.

"Aww, Crutch, you're so sweet," Feister replied with a little laugh.

"Am I colored blind or somethin' cause I swear you're wearin' p-p-p-p," Mush couldn't even bring himself to get the words out of his mouth due to the high levels of shock that was running through his body. So, he just stood there like an idiot and stuttered on "p". Which was fix when Kid Blink slapped the word out of Mush, who shouted, "PINK!"

"To answer your question, yes I am wearin' pink," Feister replied. "You can thank Kath for that and yes, I am dyin' inside and you better soak in every moment because you'll have to kill me to see me wearing this ever again."

"Well, that explains why you two were dumbstruck," Race said. "But what bout you Al - OH YES! THE SHIP IS LEAVIN' THE HARBOR! I REPEAT THE SHIP IS LEAVIN' THE HARBOR! SOUND THE ALARMS PEOPLE CAUSE ALBLYN IS GONNA BECOME CANNON!" Race exclaimed, all because Albert and Brooklyn were holding each other's hand.

"Are ya done?" Albert asked deadpanned.

"THE NEW OTP HAS BEEN SHIPPED OFF TO CLOUD NINE!" Race exclaimed happily. "Ok, I'm done."

"Good to know," Albert said with a nod. To Brooklyn he said, "If it ain't too late, if your brother doesn't kill me, and if Race would keep his mouth shut, do ya wanna be my date to Homecoming?" Albert asked while tucking a lock of Brooklyn's hair behind her ear so he could see her freckled face better.

"HECK TO THE YEAH SHE WILL!"

"SHUT UP RACE!" everyone yelled at the blonde boy.

"I..um..." Brooklyn took a deep, slow breath before saying, "Sure."

"NOW KISS!"

"RACETRACK!"

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So far, the night had been amazing for everyone. For Brook and Albert however, it started out a little awkward since Brooklyn is a little shy and isn't used to this kind of thing. But of course, Albert pulled out his usual charm and got the blue eyed girl to let loose and have fun. Which she did. He even found out that she had a knack for dancing and didn't have to worry about any toe stepping. "I'm glad ya decided to come," Albert said as he and Brooklyn slow danced. He kept a soft grip on her waist and she had her hands settled at the back of his neck.

"And I'm glad ya asked me," Brooklyn replied shyly with a little smile. "This is definitely better than a boring movie night with pizza." Brooklyn laughed a little bit to herself. She looked over to where the newsies, Katherine and Feister were all dancing before turning back to Albert and said, "And I guess we have the others to thank for pushing us together."

"Oddly enough," Albert replied with a laugh knowing how crazy antics can get around the newsies. And he should know this better than anyone, he's usually on the pranking end of things. But right now, Albert was enjoying every second he could with Brooklyn right now. She looked so pretty with her long curly hair and those dreamy blue eyes, and everything else in between. "Did I tell ya your the prettiest girl in the room yet?" the redhead asked as he twirled Brooklyn around and caught her again.

"Yes," Brooklyn replied as a light blush creeped across her cheeks. "About a hundred times now."

"Well, you can make that a hundred and one times cause you're a sight to see," Albert replied with his signature smirk.

"Well, Kath did my hair and makeup, while Feister design the dress, with a beading lesson from-"

"I ain't talkin' bout how ya look right now," Albert quickly cut off. "Not that ya don't look pretty right now. What I meant to say was, you always look pretty, and you don't even know it." from day one, Albert could see Brooklyn wasn't used to getting complements or anything like that. The way she'd blush and look away was the big tell before a little mumble of thanks as the awkward silence would set in. Which made it that much harder trying to figure out if she liked him back or not, especially since the other boys also happen to flirt with Brooklyn too and get the same reaction out of her. Albert knew it wasn't going to be an easy task getting how he felt about Brook out into the open. Mostly because she's oblivious and stuck in her own little world. But that didn't matter right now. Right now, Albert enjoyed getting to slow dance with Brooklyn, with no one to interrupt.

"You don't look too bad either," Brooklyn replied while looking up at Albert. A warm feeling washed over the inside of her body as her smile grew. She had enjoyed herself so far, and was glad Albert had asked her to be his date last minute. The only bad thing about it was the LONG lecture Mush gave to her and Albert on the way to the school. It wasn't like anything was going on between them besides being just friends. Besides Albert has been nothing but friendly. Even if the redhead's natural nature is a little flirty.

"That's good to know," Albert sighed in relief. "Race said I looked like the fashion dump threw up on me." this made Brooklyn burst into a little laughter. Albert tried to hide his smile because when Brooklyn laughed, her eyes would light up and her freckles seemed to dance. "You sure are a cutie when ya laugh." which, as Albert predicted made Brooklyn blush like crazy. "You're also cute when ya blush." this caused Brooklyn to hide her face in his chest from embarrassment. "Aww, is-"

"Leave the poor girl alone, would ya Al," Jack said in a dad tone as he danced by with Katherine with the mom look in her eyes.

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Author's note

This was a lot of fun to write, the sisterly moment, Race being well...Race, and when Albert had to take Brook to the nurse's office. I think that I enjoyed writing that the most (besides Race's soulmate theory). Speaking of Race, I think it's safe to say that we've all tried to get our friend's attention by using every nickname we have for them. While on that note, you know how much I love my references, so I had throw in a little Deja Vu moment ;). The ship name Meister (Mush and Feister in case it wasn't obvious) was created by Perice Jean on FanFiction. It was during one of our conversations about our OCs and both of us not coming up with a good one. So she suggested Meister, and it ended up sticking. Also, the Alblyn ship is slowly starting to sail (I cane up with that FYI) Thanks for reading! And if you end up leaving comments and a vote, thanks for that too! I'll see you again very soon.

Crystal.

P.S. The girls dresses