"Crutchie, can I please talk to you?" I asked my brother quietly a few hours into the night.

"Of course," he nodded, and we went outside into the Square.

"Race wants to be mine." I told him.

"That's great!" Crutchie exclaimed. "Right?"

"Yeah!" I nodded. "I wanted to check with you."

"It's fine with me." My brother shrugged.

"Good." I sighed with relief.

"I'm still gonna keep an eye on him." Crutchie told me. "If he slips up he'll know."

"Okay." I laughed. I looked in through the window and saw Race joking around with Albert and JoJo. He was laughing and took the cigar out of his mouth for a remark, blue eyes shining. He glanced at me and a warm grin spread across his face.

"He really does like you." Crutchie smiled. "I wish I had that."

"I can get you that!" I claimed

"You can?" His blond brows furrowed.

"Yep." I beamed, "There's heaps of nice, pretty girls at the theater, right?"

"Not with my experience." Crutchie laughed. "Remember Anne?"

Anne and Crutchie used to date. For a few weeks, actually. She had curly black hair, freckles, blue eyes. On first glance, she looked sweet. And she was at first, but then she convinced herself that Crutchie was faking the limp for sympathy. She was not good for him. In fact, Jack and I had to be there when he broke things off just in case she went on a rage.

"Very much." I shuddered. "But there's plenty of good ones!"

"But Anne's there." He whined as I dragged him along.

"She might be at home." I shrugged. "It's late."

"She has a little sister who cleans and sets backstage overnight, remember? Sadie?" Crutchie muttered.

"Lemme paint you a picture." I held my hand out in front of me as we walked, like I was showing him something. "We go to the theater. There's a girl there. Let's say she's ginger. You said you like gingers, yeah? She's practicing for an audition that happens in the morning. She wants to make a mark. She's nervous. You calm her down."

"You should be an author." Crutchie rolled her eyes. "Who rehearses for auditions at midnight outside the theater?"

"You future wife!" I grinned, pointing. He was trying to escape the entire time so he didn't see a ginger girl pacing back and forth outside the theater with a script in her hands. 

"I'm ready to go back now." He decided, turning to leave.

"Nope." I shook my head, grabbing his arm and dragging him over. She looked up.

"Do I know you?" She asked.

"No, my name is Clara and this is my brother Crutchie." I started. "You can call me Cass. See, I just gained a suitor. My dear brother was a little bummed that he didn't have anyone. And I decided to take him around to try and meet new people."

"I'm Bea." She glanced between us, brown eyes wide. 

"I'm Crutchie." He sputtered. I stood back and let them talk for awhile. I didn't actually expect to find him someone. Let's just hope Bea isn't like Anne.

"You shouldn't be out here so late." My brother told her. "It's dangerous."

"I know." Bea smiled, showing him a gleaming red pocket knife. "I'll be fine."

Before Crutchie could reply, a yawn interrupted him.

"Okay, you're tired." I laughed. He shook his head.

"No, no I'm good." His voice was thick with exhaustion, even though he tried to hide it. Then I remembered that he's been in the Refuge for days. Of course  he's exhausted. He had bruises coloring his face and exposed bits of his arms, along with cuts and scrapes.

"Cass, can I please speak with you for a moment?" Bea asked. I nodded and we stepped a few feet away, leaving my brother yawning and trying to wake himself up. "Why's he so beat up?"

"We just off of strike. When we stopped the wagons, he was arrested and taken to the Refuge." I explained. "He came back this morning; I don't think he's willingly slept since they took him away."

"That's terrible!" She gasped. "Is that why he's using a crutch?"

"No, he's had polio since we were kids." I shook my head. "Our parents kicked us out, so now we're Newsies."

"It was really nice meeting the both of you." She smiled. 

"You too." I agreed. "But I think he's gonna fall asleep on his feet if we don't go now."

"Understandable." She laughed as we went back to Crutchie. We were just about to leave when she gently took the collar of his shirt and kissed him quickly. Despite the purplish bruises across his face, his face turned bright red. Then Bea released him, high-fived me, and said "Okay, I'll let you go now."

I ushered my brother away; he was wide awake now.

"What?" He whisper-shouted.

"I guess she liked you." I shrugged smugly. I must have a knack for setting my friends up.

"Did you tell her to do that?" He demanded. I shook my head.

As soon as we got back, Crutchie told Jack about the entire affair. With pauses for a yawn, that is. Jack and a few others were listening intently. They started talking amongst themselves about it. I guess talking was the only thing keeping my brother awake, since he dozed off, curled in a ball in the armchair.

"Okay." Jack laughed, picking my brother up like a baby and carrying him to a bed in Tommy Boy and Romeo's room. We agreed that he should sleep in a bed while he was still laden with bruises. I propped the crutch up at the side of the bed and left for my own room. When I closed the door of the room, kissed me goodnight, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"Aw!" Mush cooed from his bed. Race scoffed at him and I laughed. Then we all went to bed.