Christina

I woke up to somebody snoring next to me. I blinked a couple times to subside the pounding pain in my head. I sat up in bed to see Mush in the bunk bed next to me. I tossed my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. I studied the sleeping boys.

"Dat's mine!"

The sudden scream made me jump. I realized that Race yelled that in his sleep. I walked over to the sleeping boy. He was shirtless and his mouth was hanging open. The sight made me quietly chuckle.

"Race," I whispered, shaking him lightly. He didn't open his eyes. "Race," I continued to shake him. He still didn't move. "Race!"

Nothing.

I saw a glass of water on his bedside table. I picked it up and made sure I was a good distance away. I tossed the water on him.

"AH!" he sat up in an millisecond and banged his head against the top of the bunk bed. "Dammit!"

I became weak in a fit of laughter. "Ya shoulda' seen ya face!"

"Damn ya, Chris," Race wiped the water from his face. "Why did ya have ta wake me up like dat?"

"I tried ta wake ya up nicely, but ya wouldn't wake up." I explained.

"Uh, Chris, why don't ya have pants on?" he stared at my legs.

I looked down. He was right, I didn't have pants on. "Don't look at me!" I grabbed the closest blanket and wrapped it around my torso.

It was Race's turn to laugh. I scowled and plopped next to him on the bed. "Shaddup!" I slapped his shoulder jokingly. His laughing started to calm. "What happened last night? I can't rememba'." I massaged my temples with two fingers.

Race cleared his throat before speaking. "I wish I didn't rememba' last night. Da bulls arrested Jack at da rally."

I let my mouth hang open. Some bits and pieces started to come back. "Jack did say he might have been in trouble. Why would dey arrest him though?"

"I dunno know," Race lit a cigar. "Dey almost took ya ta da slammer too."

"What?"

"Yeah...Apparently ya were drunk. Are ya sure ya don't rememba' when ya ran up ta me askin' for help?"

I searched my memory. I had little traces of the night before. "I kinda do."

He blew out a cloud of smoke. "Well, before ya told me why ya needed help, ya ran off. I followed ya outside when I saw a bull hit ya in da head. Boy, was I pissed. Me and a couple of da other newsies dragged ya away before dey could take ya ta jail. By dat time, Jack was probably halfway across town, headed ta da Refuge."

Race didn't look me in the eye during his story, but I looked at him in the eye the entire time. I wrapped my arms around his neck. He seemed surprised at first, but he soon wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight. "Thanks for savin' me. Ya are da greatest friend I've eva' had," I tried to conceal the little sobs that escaped from my lips. I didn't care that Race was shirtless or that he was wet. "I hope Jack's okay. I love him."

Race rubbed my back soothingly. His warm touch felt good on my cold skin. "Yeah, I know how much ya love him. I hope he's okay, too."

Race is so cute! I wish I had a friend like him:(

Please leave a comment or vote if you enjoyed the chapter! I would appreciate it!!

Thanks for reading:)