Christina

I peeled my eyelids open and blinding light struck me right away. My head hurt like hell!

"Look, Race! She's coming around." somebody said. Milliseconds after I opened my eyes I could see Race's concerned expression hanging over my face.

"What...I..." I realized I was laying on a couch. Its stuffing was falling out and it wasn't the most comfortable thing to lie down on. I tried to sit up. Pain spread throughout my entire body like wildfire. "Ow, shit. Where...am I?" after I sat up, I noticed that it wasn't just Race in the room, it was also the rest of the newsies, making me gasp a little with surprise.

"You're in the back of Medda's place." Another person said. He was tucked away in a corner, cigarette smoke giving away his hiding.

"Jack, is that you?" I rubbed my eyes, trying to focus on the dark silhouette talking in the corner. "Come out so I can see you better." He stepped out, taking little steps at a time. His body slowly started to take shape in the light.

"Yeah, it's me." He said quietly. The first thing I noticed about him was the huge, dark circle around his right eye. It took me by surprise.

"What happened to you?" I gaped at the wound.

"Don't worry 'bout it. It doesn't even hurt." He assured me. I didn't believe him, though.

He plopped on the stiff couch next to me. "Ow! Dammit!" he laid his hand on his side and winced.

Something is definitely wrong with him, I thought. I grabbed the ends of his shirt to lift it up.

"No-" He tried to stop my hands but I was quicker than him.

I raised his shirt to see his stomach. He had a ginormous purple bruise on his ribs.

"Jack!" I could hardly look at it, feeling my insides churn.

"Stop. It's nothing." He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes closed. I hated seeing him in pain like this.

"Jack, tell me. What the hell happened to you?" I asked again.

"You don't remember do you?" Race piped up.

I shook my head.

"You don't remember a thing?" he persisted.

"No! I don't remember anything, okay? Somebody tell me what is going on!" I was frustrated that nobody was explaining this to me. I was so confused.

"Tell her, Jack." Race was obviously disappointed that I didn't remember what happened.

"Well, when I realized you weren't behind me, I ran back to see the damn Delancey bruddas beating you up. I called for Race and we both beat the shit outta them," he pointed to his eye. "That's how I got this shiner."

"Oh." was all I could say.

Jack dropped his cigarette and grounded it into the floor with the heel of his boot. He lit up another cigarette, but he also offered me one. I could resist an offer like that! The minute the cigarette hit my lips and I sucked in, I felt immediate relief. I let out a deep and tired sigh.

"Where's Race?" Jack blew out a cloud of smoke. I realized Race was gone.

"Yeah. Where did Race go?" I said while standing up from the coach. I wanted to go look for him. I guess Jack had the same idea as me because he stood up too.

Together, Jack and I searched, backstage and all throughout the performance hall. It's like Race disappeared into thin air.

"So, who is this Medda girl, huh?" I spoke up after a while of silence.

"Medda? You have never met Medda?" he seemed surprised that I didn't know who she was. He continued talking after looking at me. "She's an amazing performer. She's like a mother to me ever since she found out that my real mom died." I glanced out the front door of the hall to see Race outside.

"There's Race! He's outside." I pointed to the door.

"That little bastard," Jack mumbled underneath his breath. I had to agree with him on that part. We both pushed the door open and stepped out into the crisp winter air. Race was smoking a cigar and counting some coins that were in his hand.

"What are you doing out here, Race?" Jack rubbed his arms. "It's freezin' out here."

"Do I look like I care, Jackie?" Race was clearly annoyed, but I didn't know who he was annoyed with.

"You wanna deal with this one?" Jack pointed to Race like he was an animal.

"Sure," I said. And then I remembered something. I whispered,"Can I have another cigarette. This seems like it could take a while." Jack scoffed and handed me another cigarette and a match to light it with. He pushed the large doors open again and stepped back inside. It wasn't until Jack was out of sight when Race talked again.

"You shouldn't be out here." His voice was low and his eyes were glossy.

I chuckled. "Neither should you!"

"I like being outside. It clears my thoughts, ya know?"

"I guess. I don't know. Why do you always seem annoyed with everybody?" I let my gaze drop down to my dirty boots. Silence fell between us. The sound of the night city was the only thing to be heard.

"I saved you." He whispered, and I couldn't understand what he said.

"What?"

"I saved you!" He yelled, making me retract a step.

Silence.

"Thanks for sa-" I started to say.

"I still like you, Chrissy."

"Huh?" I was shocked.

"I still like you! I'm tired of keeping it a secret! Dammit! I still like you!" he was yelling so loud, I was surprised the others couldn't hear it inside. He panted and wiped his hairline with the back of his hand.

"Oh." I was purely speechless.

"I know I already asked ya for a hug, but can I kiss you?" he wiped a tear from his dirty cheek.

I guess when I said nothing, he took that as a 'yes'.

He grabbed my waist and slammed his lips into mine.

We stayed that way for a little while.

***

When Jack said that Medda is a good performer, he really meant it! Jack sat on one side of me and Race was on the other. We sat relatively close to the stage, which was awesome. All the newsies watched the pretty woman sing and move across the stage.

"She's a real beauty," Jack sighed and wrapped his arm around the back of me. "Isn't she amazing?"

"Yeah." My eyes widened as Medda performed a turn sequence across the floor. When she stuck the landing, all the boys and I cheered. Some newsies even took off their caps and threw them at the stage in appreciation. One of those boys, of course, was Race.

Her song finished and she blew passionate kisses to the audience of kids. I clapped loudly for her.

"Bravo!" Jack yelled jokingly, wrapping his hands around his mouth.

***

After the show, I met with Medda. Her personality was even better than her singing! The newsies, Jack, and I all headed outside of the performance hall. The freezing air hit me like a wall of glass.

"Damn. It sure is freezin' outside. I don't feel like walking." I said. It was so cold that I think I was beginning to freeze alive.

"Yeah. It is pretty cold out here," He suddenly wrapped his arm around me, just like he did before. I shivered. But this time it wasn't because I was cold, it was because he was touching me. I sighed deeply through my mouth and a cloud of mist formed around my hot breath. "Hey. I'll race you." Jack said, taking his arm off of me.

"You are so gonna lose!" I took off running, and it hurt really bad. But, I wasn't going to dare let Jack beat me.

"You will beat me over my dead body!" he yelled and started running past me.

I chuckled and picked up my pace. My worn out boots (I guess they're technically Jack's) slapped against the pavement with every step. Loose strands of hair flew back in the wind.

"I'm gonna get ya, Jack!" I screamed as loud as my lungs would allow me.

Thanks for reading! :)